Effects of dietary limonene and thymol on the growth and nutritional physiology of Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus )

Abstract

Phytogenic compounds such as limonene and thymol have been shown to have growthpromoting properties in farmed animals but studies in fish are scarce. Two Experiments (Experiments I and II) were carried out to investigate the individual effects of dietary limonene and thymol on the growth and nutritional physiology of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). In Experiment I, the fish were fed on a commercial diet coated with limonene at 0 (control), 200, 400, and 600 mg kg-1 (ppm), while in Experiment II thymol was supplemented in the diet at 0 (control), 250 and 500 ppm. Our results showed a significant increase in fish weight and weight gain with diets supplemented with 400 and 600 ppm limonene compared to the control. Moreover, the expression of insulin growth factor I (igf-I), mucin-like protein (muc), oligo-peptide transporter I (pept1), lipoprotein lipase (lpl), alkaline phosphatase (alp) and catalase (cat) was up-regulated by dietary limonene. Our results confirm that dietary limonene can enhance the growth of Nile tilapia juveniles through the activation of key genes involved in somatotropic axis-mediated growth, nutrient digestion and antioxidant enzyme defence. Dietary thymol did not seem to influence growth or regulate the same pathways activated by limonene in Nile tilapia juveniles at inclusion levels up to 500 ppm. Overall, the present results suggest that potential growth-promoting effects are dependent upon the phytogenetic itself and its inclusion level.

Effect of dietary carob (Ceratonia siliqua) syrup on blood parameters, gene expression responses and ammonia resistance in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

“…In our study, SOD and CAT quantities increased significantly in the experimental groups compared with the control group. Similarly, limonene, which was added to the feed of tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) at doses of 200 and 400 ppm, increased the amount of CAT (Aanyu et al, ). In the present study, the amounts of CC1 and IL‐8 did not change in the livers of fish fed with carob syrup.…”

“…Therefore, the addition of various additives as an alternative to antibiotics is an issue that is currently being investigated. In recent years, natural feed additives have been used to improve fish growth performance, antioxidant status and disease resistance (Galina, Yin, Ardo, and Jeney (2009); Van Hai, 2015;Aanyu, Betancor, & Monroig, 2018;Acar et al, 2018;Dawood, Koshio, & Esteban, 2018;Yılmaz, Ergun, Şanver Çelik, Yigit, & Bayizit, 2019). Tilapia is an economically important species; its annual production has reached 5.9 million tons (FAO, 2018).…”

Effects of Cardamonin Enriched Diets on Growth, Intestinal Histology, Hematology, and Biochemical Parameters of Hybrid Catfish (Clarias macrocephalus × Clarias gariepinus)

“…The application of antibiotics or synthetic compounds to the fish diets could produce drug-resistant pathogens, drug residues in meat, immunosuppression, and environmental hazards (Reda et al, 2013;Lim et al, 2019). In this phenomenon, several researchers are now searching for novel compounds to substitute the use of chemicals in aquaculture industries such as prebiotics, probiotics, and phytogenics (Aanyu et al, 2018;Cao et al, 2019;Munglue et al, 2019a;Li et al, 2019).…”

“…As there is an urgent need to find effective phytogenic compounds for the improvement in the growth and health status in aquatic animals, and novel compounds are recently reported (Aanyu et al, 2018;Sruthi et al, 2018), the aim of this research was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets containing cardamonin, a flavonoid isolated from B. rotunda extract, on growth performance, intestinal histology, hematology, and blood biochemistry of hybrid catfish (Clarias macrocephalus × Clarias gariepinus).…”

Dietary Supplementation with Dried Syzygium cumini Flesh Improved Growth and Physiological Parameters in Hybrid Catfish (Clarias macrocephalus × C. gariepinus)

“…Chemicals and their derivatives have long been used in aquaculture industries to improve somatic growth and physiological parameters in fish (Awad and Awaad, 2017;Gabriel et al, 2019). Some reports have been pointed out that improper use of synthetic drugs may produce harmful effects both on consumer health and on the environments where they accumulate Aanyu et al, 2018).…”