Sex Hormones Changes in Blood and Their Effect on Fecundity of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822) after Being Injected with Different Doses of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) Hormone

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different dosesinjection of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone on fecundityand serum sex hormones (FSH, LH, estrogen (E2), progesterone (P4),testosterone (T)) of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). African catfishspawners were intermuscularly injected with different doses of HCG(500, 1500, 3000, 6000 IU/kg female), and group is not injected as acontrol; males were injected at half the female dose. The results showedthat, fish group injected by 6000 IU HCG/ kg female had the highestgonadsomatic index, absolute fecundity and relative fecundity, while,the lowest value of absolute fecundity and relative fecundity wererecorded with 500 IU HCG/ kg female. The group injected with thehighest amount of HCG (6000 IU/ kg female) recorded the lowest valuefrom egg diameter, while the highest egg diameter was observed in 500IU HCG/ kg female. In females, the group injected with 6000 IU HCG/kg female reflected the lowest level of FSH and the highest level of LHand the highest level of P4 compared to other treatments. Level of Trecorded the highest level with 1500 IU HCG/ kg female. The controlgroup reflected the highest level of FSH and E2, while the control groupreflected the lowest level of T and P4 level. In males, serum FSH, LH,P4 and E2 in male groups injected with HCG were relatively higher thanthose recorded in the control group. The highest level of T was recordedin treatment injected with the highest dose of HCG and decreased inother treatments until recorded the lowest level of T in the controlgroup. It was observed, HCG hormone has successfully and accelerateinduced spawning in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and increasedin reproductive performance with the increase in HCG dosage and ascompared to group not injected.