Abstract
Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance, body composition, and physiological state of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) fingerlings fed diets containing different levels of green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract (GTE). A completely randomized design was used with five treatments, different levels of GTE (0.00, 0.05, 0.30, 0.55, and 0.80 g kg-1) and three replicates. The diets were offered to fingerlings twice a day, for 90 days. The increase of dietary GTE levels promoted a positive quadratic effect on body lipids, hepatic lipids, retention of body lipids, glucose, and total triglycerides, and the minimum values of these variables were estimated with 0.61, 0.54, 0.73, 0.60, and 0.30g kg-1 GTE in the diet, respectively. There was a negative quadratic effect of the extract on body protein and hemoglobin with the increased GTE dietary level, and the maximum values of these variables were estimated with 0.59 and 0.46 g kg-1 GTE dietary level, respectively. Total cholesterol levels showed a linear reduction with increased GTE dietary level. The inclusion of GTE in the diet, although not affecting performance, decreases body and hepatic fat; reduces the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose; and promotes the increase of body protein of tambaqui fingerlings, improving fish health conditions, during cultivation, and the quality of the final product.
Highlights
Even though most antibiotics are not regulated for use in the cultivation of aquatic organisms, the use of these drugs is still a prophylactic practice found in cultivation systems (Figueiredo et al, 2008)
There was no significant influence of diets with different levels of green tea extract on the following parameters: survival rate (99.67±0.75%); final weight (32.93±3.03 g) and length (9.73±0.36 cm); weight (28.87±3.03 g) and length (4.94±0.37 cm) gain; specific growth rate (2.31±0.10 % per day); daily feed intake (37.06±2.39 g); feed conversion (1.31±0.05); and protein efficiency ratio (1.91±0.09) of tambaqui fingerlings
The results describing the performance of tambaqui fingerlings fed different green tea extract concentrations differ from those of studies on Paralichthys olivaceus (Cho et al, 2007) and Oreochromis niloticus (AbdelTawwab et al, 2010), in which the growth variables were higher in diets containing the phytotherapeutic green tea
Summary
Even though most antibiotics are not regulated for use in the cultivation of aquatic organisms, the use of these drugs is still a prophylactic practice found in cultivation systems (Figueiredo et al, 2008). In the production of aquatic organisms, a possible alternative to antibiotics would be the use of natural products such as herbal medicines. The few existing studies on aquaculture have shown the beneficial effects of natural products on immune systems, growth, feed efficiency, and body composition (Santos et al, 2009). These beneficial effects are due to bioactive ingredients such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and steroids (Santos et al, 2009; Uczay et al, 2014)
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