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Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition
John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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Abstract: |
A feeding trial for 90 days was conducted on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
(average weight: 25.50 ± 0.05 g) to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of
Azadirachta indica seed protein hydrolysate (AIPH). The evaluation included the
impact on the growth metrics, economic efficiency, antioxidant potential, hematobiochemical
indices, immune response, and histological architectures. A total of 250
fish were randomly distributed in five treatments (n = 50) and received diets included
with five levels of AIPH (%): 0 (control diet, AIPH0), 2 (AIPH2), 4 (AIPH4), 6
(AIPH6) or 8 (AIPH8), where AIPH partially replace fish meal by 0, 8.7%, 17.4%,
26.1%, and 34.8%, respectively. After the feeding trial, a pathogenic bacterium
(Streptococcus agalactiae, 1.5 × 108 CFU/mL) was intraperitoneally injected into the
fish and the survival rate was recorded. The results elucidated that AIPH‐included
diets significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced the growth indices (final body weight, total
feed intake, total body weight gain, and specific growth rate) and intestinal morphometrics
(villous width, length, muscular coat thickness, and goblet cells count) in
comparison to the control diet, with the AIPH8 diet recording the highest values.
Dietary AIPH inclusion significantly improved (p < 0.05) the economic efficacy
indicated by reduced feed cost/kg gain and increased performance index. The fish
fed on the AIPH diets had noticeably significantly higher (p < 0.05) protein profile
variables (total proteins and globulin) and antioxidant capabilities (superoxide
dismutase and total antioxidant capacity) than the AIPH0 group. The dietary
inclusion of AIPH significantly (p < 0.05) boosted the haematological parameters
(haemoglobin, packed cell volume %, and counts of red blood cells and white blood
cells) and immune indices (serum bactericidal activity %, antiprotease activity, and
immunoglobulin M level) in a concentration‐dependent manner. The blood glucose
and malondialdehyde levels were significantly (p < 0.05) lowered by dietary AIPH2%−8%). The albumin level and hepatorenal functioning parameters (aspartate
aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and creatinine) were not significantly
(p > 0.05) altered by AIPH diets. Additionally, AIPH diets did not adversely alter the
histology of the hepatic, renal or splenic tissues with moderately activated melanomacrophage
centres. The mortality rate among S. agalactiae‐infected fish declined as
dietary AIPH levels rose, where the highest survival rate (86.67%) was found in the
AIPH8 group (p < 0.05). Based on the broken line regression model, our study
suggests using dietary AIPH at the optimal level of 6%. Overall, dietary AIPH
inclusion enhanced the growth rate, economic efficiency, health status, and
resistance of Nile tilapia to the S. agalactiae challenge. These beneficial impacts
can help the aquaculture sector to be more sustainable.
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