Arthrospira platensis nanoparticles dietary supplementation improves growth performance, steroid hormone balance, and reproductive productivity of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) broodstock

Journal Article

2024

Published in: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0299480

This study evaluates the impact of dietary supplementation of the blue-green alga Arthrospira

platensis NIOF17/003 nanoparticles (AN) on the growth performance, whole-body biochemical

compositions, blood biochemistry, steroid hormonal, and fry production efficiency

of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) broodstock, during the spawning season. After a 21-

day preparation period to equip the females and ensure that their ovaries were filled with

eggs, mating between the mature females and males took place in a 3:1 ratio during a 14-

day spawning cycle. A total of 384 tilapia broodstock 288 females and 96 males with an initial

body weight of 450.53±0.75, were divided into four groups; AN0: a basal diet as a control

group with no supplementation of Arthrospira platensis, and the other three groups (AN2,

AN4, and AN6) were diets supplemented with nanoparticles of A. platensis at levels of 2, 4,

and 6 g kg─1 diet, respectively. The results found that fish-fed group AN6 showed the highest

significant differences in weight gain (WG), final weight (FW), feed conversion ratio (FCR),

protein efficiency ratio (PER), and feed efficiency ratio (FER). Females fed the AN6 diet

showed the highest significant fat content. Compared to the AN0 group, fish fed on the supplemented

diets showed significant improvement (p < 0.05) in triglyceride, glucose, and

aspartate aminotransferase (AST). A gradual increase in AN inclusion level resulted in a

gradual increase in the concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating

hormone (FSH), testosterone, progesterone, and prolactin. The rates (%) of increase in fry

production for females fed supplemented diets were 10.5, 18.6, and 32.2% for AN2, AN4,

and AN6, respectively, compared to the control group. This work concluded that the inclusion

levels of 6 g kg─1 of A. platensis nanoparticles in the diet of Nile tilapia broodstock

significantly improved the growth performances, steroid hormone concentrations, and

increased the fry production efficiency by 32.2%, respectively. These findings revealed that

A. platensis nanoparticles resulted in a significantly enhanced female’ reproductive productivity

of Nile tilapia broodstock.

• Publication Work Type: original article
• Publisher Name: Plos one
• Publishing City: Riyadh
• Volume Number: 33
• Issue Number: 0299480
• Magazine \ Newspaper: Plos one
• Pages: 1-19