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Abstract
The use of nanotechnology in food production systems is being investigated globally, though there is limited research on its effect on fish nutrition. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the effects of silica nanoparticles (NPs) on the nutrition and physiology of tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Four isonitrogenous diets (300 g/kg crude protein) with NPs (0, 1, 2, and 3 mg/kg diet) were fed to fish (6.52 ± 0.20 g) in a recirculatory aquaculture system for 56 days. Throughout the study period, the effects of silica NP on survival rate, blood cell count, hemoglobin (Hb) level, condition factor (CF), and final product composition (except lipid content) were insignificant. However, growth performance and feed efficiency increased with an increasing level of silica NP, up to 2 mg/kg, and then decreased. This increase was due to the highest apparent protein digestibility and dry matter digestibility when fish were fed silica NP at 2 mg/kg. However, fish at the early stage showed better performance in all dietary groups than in later. Blood glucose (BG) content and histology of the kidney revealed that fish were stressed when a 3 mg/kg silica NP was used and they adapted through excessive excretion via expanded glomeruli. Though no significant effect on villi length was observed, silica NP increased the surface area widening the villi of the gut along with the number of goblet cells in the intestine significantly, when supplemented at a level of 2 mg/kg. The bioaccumulation of silica shows that incorporating silica NP in the fish feed will not compromise human health safety upon consumption. Although silica NP at 1 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg yielded some improvements to growth and final product quality, a 2 mg/kg silica NP generated the best results in all measured parameters.
Highlights
Increased access to multidisciplinary knowledge and the worldwide availability of low-cost compliances have made the global aquaculture industry one of the fastest-growing and irreplaceable animal protein sectors (Belton and Thilsted, 2014; FAO, 2016; Abd El-Naby et al, 2019)
The results show that silica had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on all growth parameters measured, except percent weight gain (PWG) in the second stage and condition factor (CF) in the first stage
The influence of the silica NP supplementation at 3 mg/kg on WG, specific growth rate (SGR), PWG, and daily growth coefficient (DGC) was highly significant (P < 0.001) for the first 28 days, but no significant influence was found after 56 days
Summary
Increased access to multidisciplinary knowledge and the worldwide availability of low-cost compliances have made the global aquaculture industry one of the fastest-growing and irreplaceable animal protein sectors (Belton and Thilsted, 2014; FAO, 2016; Abd El-Naby et al, 2019). This intensified sector has been proved to be a significant contributor to food security, especially for developing Asian and African countries including Bangladesh (Gui et al, 2018; Chan et al, 2019; Hasan et al, 2021c). While the sustainable use of feed is a challenge to the aquaculture industry, many strategies have been implemented, including the replacement of fishmeal (Perez-Velazquez et al, 2019; Li et al, 2020), the use of byproducts (Irm et al, 2020), selective breeding (Carlberg et al, 2018), minimizing nutrient waste (de Verdal et al, 2018), and, most recently, the use of feed additives including probiotics (Haque et al, 2021b; Hasan et al, 2021a), and nanoparticles (NPs) (Abd El-Naby et al, 2019; Rathore et al, 2020)
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