Synergistic Effect of Dietary Inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum and Berberine Supplementation on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Capacity, and Immune Function of Juvenile Black Sea Bream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii)

Abstract

The interactive effect of dietary inactivated Lactobacillus plantarum and berberine on black sea bream, Acanthopagrus schlegelii, was investigated with three diets designated as D1 (Con: basal diet), D2 (LP: basal diet + 400 mg/kg L. plantarum), and D3 (LPBB: basal diet + 400 mg/kg L. plantarum + 50 mg/kg berberine) and fed to juvenile black sea bream ( 5.67 ± 0.05 g) for 56 days. The growth performance and feed utilization parameters, as well as intestinal trypsin activity, were significantly improved in the LP and LPBB groups ( P < 0.05 ). Fish fed the LPBB diet showed better serum and hepatic antioxidant capacity, whilst the LP group had better hepatic antioxidant capacity, than the control fish ( P < 0.05 ). Intestinal IgM and C3 levels significantly increased in the LPBB fish than the rest of the groups ( P < 0.05 ). NF-κB was significantly upregulated in the LP group ( P < 0.05 ). Nrf2 and IL-10 were significantly upregulated, whilst Keap1b and NF-κB were significantly downregulated in the LPBB group ( P < 0.05 ). These findings show that a combination of inactivated L. plantarum and berberine in the diet of black sea bream can improve the immune response and antioxidant capacity than a diet with only the inactivated probiotic, whilst both diets can equally improve growth performance.

Effects of Berberine on Lipid Metabolism, Antioxidant Status, and Immune Response in Liver of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) under a High-Fat Diet Feeding

“…Specifically, berberine has been shown to mitigate liver injury induced by methotrexate, HFD, and CCl 4 through the activation of the Nrf2 pathway in rats [60,63,64]. In fish, it was also found that dietary berberine enhanced the antioxidant capacity by upregulating nrf2 expression [57,65]. In this study, the nrf2 expression was markedly downregulated in HFD-induced liver injury, but this downregulation was reversed to normal levels following treatments with 50 and 100 mg/kg of berberine.…”

“…Our data aligned with those in these studies, demonstrating that HFD treatment led to the suppression of mRNA levels of lzm, hep, c3, and igm in the liver of tilapia. The immunostimulatory effects of berberine have been well-documented, evidenced by a significant increase in LZM activity in the plasma of O. niloticus [82], alongside elevated levels of IgM and C3 in the intestine of A. schlegelii [65]. In line with these findings, our data demonstrated that berberine treatments (50 and 100 mg/kg) markedly reversed the HFD-induced downregulation of lzm, hep, c3, and igm, suggesting that berberine exerted a positive effect on the immune function in the liver of tilapia.…”