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Balanites aegyptiaca or Desert date is a common plant in all dry lands of Africa and South Asia. Some parts of the plant are used as fish poisons but not poisonous to man. It is also used as medicine or food in humans as well as insect repellent. Four parts of the plant were phytochemically and proximately screened to determine whether the bioactive compounds can be utilized in sedation or anaesthetization of fish as well as supplementation of fish nutrition. The root, stem bark, leaf and fruit of the plant were screened using petroleum ether, methanol, chloroform ethanol and water as solvents. Proximate analysis to determine proximate composition of the parts of the plant was also conducted. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkanoids, flavonoids, tanins, saponins, terpens & steroids, cardiac glycosides, balsam, carbohydrates, phenols in the root and fruit. There was absence of alkanoids, flavonoids, balsam, and carbohydrates in the stem bark. The leaf confirmed the aforementioned phytochemicals except cardiac glycoside. The proximate analysis showed low percentage crude protein composition in all the plant parts [Leaf (22.94%), fruit (15.63%), root (12.81%) and stem (6.94%)]. Moisture content of the plant was also low with fruit having the highest (4.56%) and the leaf with the lowest (2.69%). The results of this work provide evidence that the bioactive compounds of the root, leaf and fruit could be utilized in sedation and anaesthetization of fish while the proximate composition was not suitable for supplementation in fish nutrition

Background and Objective: The aim of this study seeks to Compare the effects of Inclusion levels of Potent and Expired Astaxanthin in the Diet of African catfish Clarias gariepinus Fingerlings for Skin and Flesh Pigmentation. Materials and Methods: A 120 fingerlings Clarias gariepinus was used which was procured from a reputable farm in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. They were then taken to the Hydrobiology and Fisheries Laboratory of the University of Jos, Nigeria and allowed to acclimatize for three weeks before the feeding started. The experiment involved the use of 19 fibre glass tanks having average capacity of 95 litres. It was run under the flow-through system at 100 ml/min in order to avoid pollution. Results: After a feeding period of eight weeks, increasing the level of astaxanthin (potent and expired) in the feed of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings from 100 (T1) to 150 (T2) to 200g/kg (T3), the concentration of carotene in the skin increased significantly (p < 0.05) between the treatments except for the control. The effect of pigmentation was given in the skin and flesh of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings fed both potent and expired astaxanthin, except that, the potent astaxanthin gave higher effect of pigmentation on both skin and flesh than the expired astaxanthin. Conclusion: It was however, found that, the concentration of astaxanthin in the skin was higher than that in the flesh under every treatment for both potent and expired astaxanthin.

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