Bromelain improves the growth, biochemical, and hematological profiles of the fingerlings of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract

A 6-week-long feeding trial experiment was conducted to study the efficacy of Bromelain, a blend of proteolytic enzymes present in pineapple wastes on growth performance, biochemical, and hematological profiles of the fingerlings of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. For this, 240 Nile tilapia fingerlings (9 ± 0.11 cm) were fed a commercial diet, supplemented with different levels of pineapple peel extract (PPE) at 1:0, 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3 ratios. After 45 days of the feeding trial, growth parameters, biochemical constituents, and the level of blood cells were assessed. It was found that the growth parameters such as weight gain, feed efficiency ratio, and specific growth rate were increased (p < 0.05) along with the total protein and amino acid content and few hematological parameters; whereas the feed conversion ratio was found to be reduced significantly (p > 0.05) without changing the white blood cell count with PPE supplementation. Thus, the PPE can be a potential feed supplement in Nile tilapia aquaculture.