Dietary green-synthesized curcumin-mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles promote growth performance, haemato-biochemical profile, antioxidant status, immunity, and carcass quality in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of dietary curcumin-assisted green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (CUR-ZnONPs) on growth performance, haemato-biochemical profile, antioxidant capacity, immune response, carcass composition, and bioaccumulation of Zn in Nile tilapia. The fish (‎16.20 ± 1.02 g‎) were fed with diets enriched with 0 (CZP1), 5 (CZP2), 7.5 (CZP3), and 10 (CZP4) mg/kg CUR-ZnONPs for 56 days and then challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. The highest growth performance (final weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate) and the lowest feed conversion ratio were recorded in CZP4 (P < 0.05). Feeding the fish with CZP4 resulted in a significant increase in the hematological indices, body crude protein content, ‎antioxidant capacity (superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione), and humoral immunity (immunoglobulin M, lysozyme, and complement pathway activity) (P < 0.05). However, the levels of malondialdehyde, body crude lipid, cholesterol, and aspartate aminotransferase were significantly decreased in the fish fed with CZP4 compared to others (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the values of glucose, alanine aminotransferase, catalase, monocyte count, and muscle Zn accumulation between the treated fish and the control group (P > 0.05). The mortality rate of the fish infected with A. hydrophila was significantly lower in the group that received CZP4 compared to the other experimental groups (P < 0.05). The principal component analysis demonstrated that the fish fed with CUR-ZnONPs have significantly higher growth performance, immune responses, and antioxidant status than the fish fed with the control diet. Overall, it is suggested to use dietary CUR-ZnONPs, especially at 10 mg/kg, as a beneficial feed supplement to improve growth performance, antioxidant status, and immune parameters in Nile tilapia.