Effects of Dietary Silica Nanoparticle on Growth Performance, Protein Digestibility, Hematology, Digestive Morphology, and Muscle Composition of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis Niloticus

Abstract

The use of nanotechnology in food production systems is being investigated globally, though there is limited research on its effect on fish nutrition. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the effects of silica nanoparticles (NPs) on the nutrition and physiology of tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Four isonitrogenous diets (300 g/kg crude protein) with NPs (0, 1, 2, and 3 mg/kg diet) were fed to fish (6.52 ± 0.20 g) in a recirculatory aquaculture system for 56 days. Throughout the study period, the effects of silica NP on survival rate, blood cell count, hemoglobin (Hb) level, condition factor (CF), and final product composition (except lipid content) were insignificant. However, growth performance and feed efficiency increased with an increasing level of silica NP, up to 2 mg/kg, and then decreased. This increase was due to the highest apparent protein digestibility and dry matter digestibility when fish were fed silica NP at 2 mg/kg. However, fish at the early stage showed better performance in all dietary groups than in later. Blood glucose (BG) content and histology of the kidney revealed that fish were stressed when a 3 mg/kg silica NP was used and they adapted through excessive excretion via expanded glomeruli. Though no significant effect on villi length was observed, silica NP increased the surface area widening the villi of the gut along with the number of goblet cells in the intestine significantly, when supplemented at a level of 2 mg/kg. The bioaccumulation of silica shows that incorporating silica NP in the fish feed will not compromise human health safety upon consumption. Although silica NP at 1 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg yielded some improvements to growth and final product quality, a 2 mg/kg silica NP generated the best results in all measured parameters.

Evaluation of growth, nutrient absorption, body composition and blood indices under dietary exposure of iron oxide nanoparticles in Common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

“…In addition, they have a higher bioavailability than typical metals of larger size and can detoxify heavy metals (Chen et al, 2022). Bashar et al (2021) aimed to study the effects of silica-NPs on the growth and nutrient digestibility of tilapia. They concluded that 2 mg/kg Si-NPs level improves the feed efficiency and hence apparent nutrient digestibility of fish also increases.…”

“…In order to fulfill the need of micronutrients in aqua‐feeds, various metallic nanomaterials have been utilised, i.e. zinc‐NPs (SM Abdel‐Hammed et al, 2019), iron‐NPs (Akter et al, 2018), selenium‐NPs (Ghazi et al, 2022), silica‐NPs (Bashar et al, 2021), chromium‐NPs (Hussain et al, 2019) and silver‐NPs (Yin et al, 2020). In fish farming, anemia and poor growth result from iron deficiency.…”

Survival, growth, behavior, hematology and serum biochemistry of mice under different concentrations of orally administered amorphous silica nanoparticle

“…In the industries of food production, NPs are playing a key role due to their nutritional and medical value [8] , [44] , [47] , [69] , [88] . The productivity of aquaculture can be enhanced by nanoparticles, by the activity of biomolecules with micronutrients [77] , [94] , along with the application of treatment of diseases without any negative impact to health of humans [39] .…”

Silica nanoparticles alleviate the immunosuppression, oxidative stress, biochemical, behavioral, and histopathological alterations induced by Aeromonas veronii infection in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

“…More recently, SiNPs have been reported to stimulate immune parameters and enhance gene expression, and accordingly, antagonize the immune dysfunction and gene down-regulation elicited by A. veronii bacterial infection in C. gariepinus (Abdel Rahman et al 2023a ). Supplementing O. niloticus in SiNP-enriched diets boosts the ionic exchange mechanism and enhances growth efficacy and hematological picture indicated by augmenting growth indices and blood biomarkers (Alandiyjany et al 2021 ; Bashar et al 2021 ).…”