Dietary Supplementation of a Mixture of Saponin-Rich Plants to Reduce Ammonia-Nitrogen Excretion in Juvenile Nile Tilapia (<i>Oreochromis</i> <i>niloticus</i>)

Abstract

The intensification in aquaculture production leads to increasing attention on the management of ammonia from its waste. Natural solutions such as Yucca schidigera extracts have shown beneficial effects. Their origin (harvested from the wild), however, call for alternative and equally efficient solutions in order to increase the sustainability of their production. In this work, juvenile Nile tilapias (Oreochromis niloticus) were supplemented with different doses of a commercial mixture of saponin-rich plants (Norponin® OPTI, CTL: 0ppm, D1: 100ppm, D2: 500ppm and D3: 2500ppm). The impact on water quality was monitored, with a particular attention to total ammonia excretion (TAN). TAN was significantly reduced in treatments D1 and D2 compared to the control and D3 treatments (p<0.05). Overall, the present study demonstrates that a supplementation with low doses of the feed additive (100 or 500ppm) induced beneficial effects on TAN management.

Quillaja saponaria and/or linseed oil improved growth performance, water quality, welfare profile and immune‐oxidative status of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings

“…Güroy et al (2016) reported a positive impact of supplementation of juvenile striped catfish (Pangasus hypophthalmus) with a combination of Y. schidigera and QS on the fish total ammonia nitrogen reduction. Saponins' capacity to bind ammonia and promote ammonia transfer to nitrite and nitrate may be a potential explanation to understand the reduced total ammonia nitrogen and unionized ammonia; the latter is the much more toxic form of nitrogen (Engler et al, 2018). Furthermore, saponins' increased intestinal permeability leads to higher absorption of feed nutrients that could better control ammonia nitrogen's overall excretion (Francis et al, 2005).…”

Quillaja saponaria and/or Yucca schidigera ameliorate water quality, growth performance, blood health, intestine and gills histomorphology of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

“…In this context, many studies have focused on the role of YS in mitigating ammonia in aquaculture water with promising findings (Castillo Vargasmachuca et al, 2015;Hassan et al, 2017;Yang et al, 2015;Yu et al, 2015). In this regard, YS inclusion can lower TAN and UIA in the carp fish (Dawood et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2020), Nile tilapia (Abdel-Tawwab et al, 2021;Engler et al, 2018), catfish (Güroy et al, 2014;Kelly & Kohler, 2003) and Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and Kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus) (Santacruz-…”

“…Intestinal histomorphology of fish exposed to different experimental treatments for 60 day addition, the increase in intestinal permeabilization by saponins leads to a better nitrogen absorption that could better manage the total ammonia nitrogen excretion (Engler et al, 2018).…”

Yucca schidigera Usage for Healthy Aquatic Animals: Potential Roles for Sustainability

“…More specifically, the intensive conditions produce abundant amounts of ammonia emissions, which induces oxidative stress, immunosuppression, and inflammatory features in a fish’s body [ 42 ]. The inclusion of yucca extract improved the quality of rearing water and lowered the accumulated ammonia in the case of mirror carp [ 42 ], Nile tilapia ( O. niloticus ) [ 12 , 17 ], striped catfish ( P. hypophthalmus ) [ 52 ], and European seabass juveniles ( D. labrax ) [ 45 ]. Yucca extract has steroidal saponins and glycol with an active surface attributed to ammonia’s adsorption [ 34 ].…”

“…Yucca plant originates from the deserts of the Southwestern United States and Mexico, which is known for their high temperature, lack of water, and stressful conditions [ 10 ]. Concurrently, yucca is characterized by its anti-stressor potential and beneficial effects that make it a prospective phytogenic additive for the aquaculture industry [ 12 , 17 ]. Yucca has abundant amounts of saponin and resveratrol, which can eliminate the waterborne ammonia and lower its impacts on aquatic animals’ performance and health [ 18 ].…”