Abstract
Medicinal herbal feed that used as feed additives are widely applied in livestockproduction and may be applicable to aquaculture production systems. Thepresent study explores the modulatory effects of incorporation of herbalcombination of black cumin seeds (Nigella sativa), peppermint (Menthapiperita) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), on African Sharptooth Catfish,Clarias gariepinus. For this purpose, a total of 72 catfish were randomlydistributed into 6 groups of 12 fish each and fed on the experimental diets for 45successive days. Fish of first group were fed on basic diet only while, those ofthe second one were fed on basic diet supplemented with 0.5% from eachmedicinal plant while, other 4 groups were subjected to challenge experiment byinjection with Vibrio vulnificus. The third group was kept non-injected, fourthgroup was injected by saline, fifth and sixth groups were injected by Vibriovulnificus after feeding with basic diet and basic diet with herbs, respectively.Results proved that, total antioxidant capacity, serum total proteins, albuminsand globulins were observed to be significantly higher in the treated group ascompared to the control. Lymphocytes percent increased significantly in herbalfed group comparing to the control group while, neutrophils percent decreasedsignificantly. Although serum urea level was not affected by herbal supplement,serum creatinine level was decreased significantly. Body weight gain of C.gariepinus increased significantly after herbal administration. Catfish challengedwith a Vibrio vulnificus isolate and received the herbal diet showed lessmortality than the control group. Fish fed on the herbal diet exhibited normalhistological structure of liver, kidney and spleen. In conclusion, based on thecurrent results together with the low cost and the potential antioxidant andimmune effects of mixed herbal medicinal plants used in the study, it isrecommended to be used in fish feed to diminish the mortalities caused by someaquatic pathogens.
Highlights
Many immunostimulants are being used as feed supplement in fish farms to prevent fish from pathogenic organisms
The seeds and leaves were washed by water, air dried and JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICAL RESEARCH 2018, 25 ( 2 ): 214-229 ground before mixing with the basal diet
Sections of about 4-5 μm thickness were prepared and stained with haematoxylin and eosin for that serum level of TAC significantly increased histopathological examination (Bancroft and (P
Summary
Many immunostimulants are being used as feed supplement in fish farms to prevent fish from pathogenic organisms. The application of naturally occurring immunostimulants such as, herbs, herbal preparations and other botanicals are prioritize over chemical compounds for augmentation of fish health and enhance the activities of nonspecific defense mechanisms. The use of plants becomes necessary because of their wide medicinal importance (Zhang, 2002). Among these plants, black cumin seed, Nigella sativa which is a spice and used as a preservative in foods. Black cumin seed, Nigella sativa which is a spice and used as a preservative in foods It encompasses many therapeutic properties such as, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory (Khan, 1999), immunomodulator, hepatoprotective and renal protective (Ramadan, 2007). The protective effect on reducing the histopathological alteration in structure of kidney, liver and spleen were considered
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