Rhamdia quelen (Quoy &amp; Gaimard, 1824), submitted to a stressful condition: effect of dietary addition of the essential oil of Lippia alba on metabolism, osmoregulation and endocrinology

Carine De Freitas Souza,Jaqueline I Golombieski,Braulio O Caron,Joseânia Salbego,Bernardo Baldisserotto,Werner G Glanzner,Mauro A Cunha,Paulo B D Gonçalves,Berta M Heinzmann,Juliana G Ferst,Luciane T Gressler

doi:10.1590/1982-0224-20140153

Rhamdia quelen (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824), submitted to a stressful condition: effect of dietary addition of the essential oil of Lippia alba on metabolism, osmoregulation and endocrinology

Carine De Freitas Souza, Jaqueline I Golombieski + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0224-20140153

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Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the essential oil of Lippia alba (EOLA) as a feed additive on ionoregulatory and metabolic parameters and pituitary hormones expression in silver catfish, Rhamdia quelen , submitted to a stressful condition (stocking density of 10.6 kg m-3 and limited space). Fish were fed with different concentrations of EOLA (0.0 - control, 0.25 and 0.50 mL kg food-1) for 20 days. Metabolic parameters were not affected by the diet, with the exception of alanine aminotransferase, which was higher in the liver of fish fed 0.50 mL EOLA kg food-1. Plasma ions and activity of H+-ATPase did not change, but fish fed 0.25 mL EOLA kg food-1 presented higher Na+/K+-ATPase activity. Somatolactin expression in the pituitary was higher in the fish fed 0.25 mL EOLA kg food -1, but the expression of growth hormone and prolactin did not change. Therefore, dietary EOLA does not exert a protective effect in R. quelen submitted to a stressful situation because it did not alter most measured parameters. The use of 0.25 mL EOLA kg food-1 seems to be more suitable than 0.50 mL EOLA kg food-1 since the latter may be related to liver damage.

Highlights

Addition of herbal extracts in fish feed is increasingly seen as a safe and practical alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals
Hepatic ALT of fish fed 0.50 mL essential oil of Lippia alba (EOLA) kg food-1 was significantly higher compared to the other treatments (Fig. 2B)
High plasma cortisol levels were observed in the control group, demonstrating that the stocking density and the limited space of the 60 L tanks of the present experiment was stressful for R. quelen as previously indicated by Barcellos et al (2004) and Menezes et al (2015)

Summary

Introduction

Addition of herbal extracts in fish feed is increasingly seen as a safe and practical alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals. The use of the oregano essential oil (Origanum heracleoticum) as a supplement in the food improved growth, antioxidant status and resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) (Zheng et al, 2009) and the extract of Allium sativum in the diet promoted growth and reduced mortality rate of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila (Shalaby et al, 2006). In Rhamdia quelen (Quoy & Gaimard 1824), the essential oil of L. alba (EOLA) is an effective anesthetic (Cunha et al, 2010) and sedative for transport (Azambuja et al, 2011; Becker et al, 2012), can delay lipid peroxidation (LPO) during frozen storage of fillets (Veeck et al, 2013) and decreases LPO and increases tissue antioxidant response when added to the diet (Saccol et al, 2013). The EOLA is an effective anesthetic for the sea horse (Hippocampus reidi) (Cunha et al, 2011)

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