Combined Effects of Leucas aspera, Oxy-Cyclodextrin and Bentonite on the Growth, Serum Biochemistry, and the Expression of Immune-Related Gene in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a combination of Leucas aspera, Oxy-cyclodextrin and sodium bentonite (LOB) on growth, digestive enzyme activity, innate immune response, haematology, and expression of immune-related genes in Nile tilapia. A total of 240 juvenile fish (20.15±0.05g) were randomly distributed into four dietary groups in triplicate and fed respective diets containing a graded level of LOB at 0 g kg-1 (Control), 0.3 g kg-1 (T1), 0.6 g kg-1 (T2) and 0.9 g kg-1 diet (T3) for 60 days. After 60 days, higher growth was observed in fish fed T2 diet (P < 0.05). Digestive enzyme activities and innate immune parameters were significantly higher in T3 group. Some of the haematological parameters reported statistically higher counts in T2 group (P<0.05), whereas erythrocyte indices and WBC counts were significantly higher in T3 group. Liver- kidney activities were recorded low in T3 group. Urea and creatinine were higher in control group, whereas T2 group recorded the least value. The highest relative expression of IL-1β, IgM-heavy chain, TGF-β and IFN-γ were recorded in T2 group, but TNF-α was upregulated in T3 group. The results showed that 0.6 - 0.9 g kg1 of LOB is recommended for inclusion in diet.

Effects of dietary Leucas aspera levels on growth performance, nutrient utilization, digestive enzymes and physio‐metabolic and health status of bagrid catfish, Rita rita (Hamilton, 1822)

“…The lower growth performance and survival in the control group (D0) could be related to physiological stress in relation to the environmental condition that was mitigated by the dietary L. aspera levels in the treatment groups. Previous studies reported that dietary L. aspera alone or L. aspera extract combined with Oxy-Cyclodextrin and Bentonite at the level of 2 g/kg diet and 0.6 g/kg, respectively, significantly improves growth, feed efficiency and survival in GIFT tilapia (Kurian et al, 2020(Kurian et al, , 2021. Musthafa et al (2017Musthafa et al ( , 2018 (2021) also demonstrated the beneficial effects of dietary herbs supplementation on growth and feed efficiency in groupers and zebrafish respectively.…”

“…From an aquaculture perspective, dietary supplementation of herbs or plant extracts has gained considerable importance due to its nutraceutical values for promoting growth and health benefits to the cultured fish. Several herbs were reported to augment growth (Citarasu et al, 2002;Van Hai, 2015;Safari et al, 2017;Dawood et al, 2018), appetite stimulation (Citarasu, 2010), antistress, improve immune functions (Kurian et al, 2020(Kurian et al, , 2021Reverter et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2018), nutrient utilization (Wang et al, 2018;Yousefi et al, 2019) and physiological status (Syahidah et al, 2015;Yilmaz et al, 2012) in aquatic animals. In the present study, growth performance such as WG (%) and SGR of R. rita fish were enhanced in the L. aspera supplemented groups as compared with the control.…”

“…aspera alone or L . aspera extract combined with Oxy‐Cyclodextrin and Bentonite at the level of 2 g/kg diet and 0.6 g/kg, respectively, significantly improves growth, feed efficiency and survival in GIFT tilapia (Kurian et al, 2020, 2021). Musthafa et al (2017, 2018) reported that Cucurbita mixta and Mucuna pruriens at the inclusion of 4 g/kg and 6 g/kg diet, respectively, significantly enhanced WG (%) and SGR in GIFT tilapia, whereas Garg et al (2019) reported that 10 g/kg Houttuynia cordata significantly improved WG %, SGR and FCR in Labeo rohita fish.…”

“…However, evaluation of L. aspera as an herbal additive in fish diet for improving growth and health is limited and needs more demonstrating in different species. For instance, Kurian et al (2020) and Kurian et al (2021) reported that L. aspera alone at the level of 3 g/kg or combination with oxy-cyclodextrin and bentonite had improved the growth and innate immunity in Nile tilapia. Antony et al (2013) reported that L. aspera extract derived nanoparticles improved antioxidant and haematological profile in Catla catla.…”

Carica papaya and Mangifera indica modulate haematological, biochemical and histological alterations in atrazine-intoxicated fish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822)

“…Plant secondary metabolites have been used, and still in use, as therapeutics, either as protective or ameliorative agents against toxins and this has been encouraged by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (Noureen et al, 2018). Previous reports on the analyses of the two plants' extracts phytochemical constituents have identified alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, terpenoids, phenols, amino acids and reducing sugars as the main bioactive compounds of these plants (Naggayi et al, 2015;Awodele et al, 2016;Hamed et al, 2021;Kurian et al, 2021). These bioactive compounds are well known for their protective or ameliorative properties of mediating their actions as primary antioxidants combating oxidative stress (Aruoma et al, 2006;Kang & Kim, 2018) or as scavengers abrogating the effects of free radicals (Rashidian et al, 2019;Shahidi & Ambigaipalan, 2015).…”