Long-Term Feeding with Curcumin Affects the Growth, Antioxidant Capacity, Immune Status, Tissue Histoarchitecture, Immune Expression of Proinflammatory Cytokines, and Apoptosis Indicators in Nile Tilapia, <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>
Shimaa A. Amer,
Doaa A. El-Araby,
Haitham Tartor,
Mahmoud Farahat,
Nehal I. A. Goda,
Mohamed F. M. Farag,
Esraa M. Fahmy,
Aziza M. Hassan,
Mohamed F. Abo El-Maati,
Ali Osman
Affiliations
Shimaa A. Amer
Department of Nutrition & Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Doaa A. El-Araby
Department of Fish Health and Management, Central Laboratory for Aquaculture Research (CLAR), Agriculture Research Center, Abbassa, Abo-Hammad, Sharkia 44662, Egypt
Haitham Tartor
Department of Fish Health and Welfare, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Sentrum, P.O. Box 750, 0106 Oslo, Norway
Mahmoud Farahat
Department of Nutrition & Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Nehal I. A. Goda
Department of Histology and Cytology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Mohamed F. M. Farag
Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Esraa M. Fahmy
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Aziza M. Hassan
Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed F. Abo El-Maati
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
Ali Osman
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
The impact of dietary curcumin (CUR) on the growth, antioxidant activity, histomorphology of certain organs, proinflammatory cytokine production, and immune status of Oreochromis niloticus was evaluated. The fingerlings (n = 225, 41.60 ± 0.09 g/fish) were randomly allotted into five experimental groups in triplicate. Fish were fed basal diets complemented with 0, 200, 400, 600, or 800 mg curcumin/kg diet (CUR0, CUR200, CUR400, CUR600, and CUR800, respectively) for 10 weeks. An increase in fish growth was reported in the CUR200 and CUR400 groups. The feed conversion ratio was enhanced by 15% in the CUR400 group. Fish body protein content was increased in the CUR600 group (p ≤ 0.01). Body fat was decreased, and ash content was increased by CUR supplementation in a level-related way (p O. niloticus challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila was highest in the CUR200-CUR600 groups (100%) and decreased in the CUR800 group (80%). This study concluded that CUR could be added to Nile tilapia diets up to 400 mg·kg−1 to achieve better growth, antioxidant capacity, immune response, and intestinal histology. Long feeding periods on high levels of CUR (600 and 800 mg·kg−1) stimulate inflammatory reactions in fish tissues.
