Effects of spirulina powder ( Spirulina platensis ) as a dietary additive on Oscar fish, Astronotus ocellatus : Assessing growth performance, body composition, digestive enzyme activity, immune‐biochemical parameters, blood indices and total pigmentation

Abstract

In this study, the effect of spirulina meal (Spirulina platensis) as a feed additive on growth and physiological response of Oscar fish,Astronotus ocellatus, was assessed using four diets including control without spirulina supplementation, 13.75 g/kg spirulina (SP1), 27.50 g/kg spirulina (SP2) and 55 g/kg spirulina (SP3). One hundred and twenty fish (10.41 ± 0.25 g) were disturbed to twelve aquariums and fed to apparent satiation three times a day for 8 weeks. The result showed that the SP3 treatment had statistically better growth performance, feeding parameters, total protease activity, total protein and lipid contents than the control. Moreover, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean erythrocyte haemoglobin and mean erythrocyte haemoglobin concentrations were improved considerably in the SP3 treatment compared with the control. The SP3 treatment showed higher total protein and albumin levels, but lower triglycerides, cholesterol levels and liver enzyme activities than the control. Also, serum complements (C3, C4), lysozyme activity and total carotenoid contents in fish skin significantly increased in the SP3 treatment compared with the control. The results of this study suggest that spirulina powder at the level of 55 g/kg of the diet can be used as a functional natural feed additive to improve the performance of Oscar fish.

Effective role of dietary curcumin nanoparticles and Spirulina platensis supplementation on growth, digestive enzymes, hematological, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant status, immune responses, and histological examination in Nile tilapia fingerlings

“…Recent studies demonstrated that long-term feeding with curcumin markedly enhanced the protein and ash contents of Nile tilapia muscles (Abd El-Hakim et al, 2020; Amer et al, 2022). Similar results were reported in Oscar sh, Astronotus ocellatus fed SP powder (Mohammadiazarm et al, 2021). Dietary SP increased the ash content of whole body and dorsal muscles along with signi cant decreased in lipid content in the juvenile gibel carp (Cao et al, 2018b).…”

“…Furthermore, a signi cant increment in the lysozyme mRNA expression was observed in the Cu-NPs fed L. vannamei shrimp (Bhoopathy et al, 2021). A rmative effects of spirulina platensis on the inherent immunity of sh, including lysozyme activity were noticed earlier (Awad et al, 2022;Cao et al, 2018a;Mohammadiazarm et al, 2021). Our nding may be accompanied by the induction of the humoral immunity of Nile tilapia after Cu-NPs and SP administration as curcumin provokes cytokines production with activating of macrophages and neutrophils, which regulate the immunity response of sh (Jagetia and Aggarwal, 2007).…”

“…Curcumin can probably activate the neutrophils and macrophages, to release reactive oxygen species (ROS) subsequent with increased the phagocytic activity, which is involved in immunity (Ashry et al, 2021;Jagetia and Aggarwal, 2007). In this regard, spirulina platensis had also ameliorated Hb, HCT, MCH and MCHC in Oscar sh (Mohammadiazarm et al, 2021), and this improvement is attributed to phycocyanin of spirulina platensis is known for its bene cial effects on the stem cells in the bone marrow, which promoted the cellular immune system and red blood cells of sh (Meng-umphan, 2008).…”

“…The curcumin growth-promoting effect could be related to its enhanced digestion activity via increasing the activities of lipase, trypsin, and amylase enzymes in intestine and hepatopancreas to facilitate absorption of nutrients and consequently amended nutrient utilization and feed e ciency (Abd El-Hakim et al, 2020;Jiang et al, 2016). Curcumin has an attractive avor, concurrently it could augment the palatability of feed and therefore increased the feed intake(Alagawany et al, 2021).It is well described that the dietary supplementation of Spirulina Arthrospira platensis has enhanced the growth performance of Nile tilapia(Awad et al, 2022), Caspian brown trout(Roohani et al, 2019), as well as Oscar sh, Astronotus ocellatus(Mohammadiazarm et al, 2021). These outcomes are attributed to the high contents of bioactive compounds in spirulina, involving polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly γlinolenic acid, polysaccharides, and also pigments such as total carotenoids; Zeaxanthin, β-carotene, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin(Awad et al, 2022;Roohani et al, 2019;Rosas et al, 2019).…”

Mucosal Immune Responses and Total Carotenoid Content of Juvenile Male Guppy Fish (Poecilia Reticulata) Fed With Different Herbal Supplements ​

“…The past decades have seen an increase in the trade of ornamental sh, about US$44 million annually (FAO 2019). But, the crucial points for developments in the ornamental sh industry are the improvement of coloration, immunity system, and survival rate of sh (Mohammadiazarm et al 2021). Therefore, the commercial sh breeders try to use supplemental additives in formulated feeds for higher pro ts in ornamental sh trades.…”