Vet World   Vol.14   November-2021  Article-17

The ability of probiotics to ameliorate blood and gonad damage caused by copper toxicity in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Background and Aim: Industrial waste, such as heavy metals, is a major source of water pollution; at high levels, such pollution can reduce river water quality to the extent that it becomes unsuitable for aquaculture of freshwater fish. This study aimed to focus on the effects of copper (Cu) exposure in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and specifically the ability of Lactobacillus-based probiotics supplementation in fish feed to ameliorate damage to gonads and negative effects on red blood cells (RBCs), whole blood cells (WBCs), hematocrit (HCT) levels, hemoglobin (HGB) levels, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels following such exposure.

Materials and Methods: Thirty-two Nile tilapia fish were divided into eight groups: A negative control (without probiotics or Cu), a positive control (with probiotics but without Cu), three treatments with probiotics in feed, and one of three Cu concentrations (0.75, 1.50, or 3.00 mg/L), and three treatments with these three Cu concentrations but without probiotics in feed. The probiotics concentration in feed was 25 mL/kg (1×108 CFU/mL). Feeding was for 15 days, after which the hematological parameters, gonadal (testis) structure, and MDA levels of fish were analyzed.

Results: Exposure to Cu significantly (p<0.05) affected fish hematology (decreased HGB, HCT, RBC, and WBC levels) and altered the structure of the testes. However, the addition of probiotics to fish feed significantly (p<0.05) ameliorated these effects on hematology and maintained the histological structure of the gonads.

Conclusion: Cu exposure at ≥1.5 mg/L affected the hematologic parameters, gonadosomatic index, MDA levels, and testicular cells and tissue of Nile tilapia. However, probiotics supplementation in fish feed helped ameliorate the negative effects of Cu on these parameters. Thus, the Lactobacillus-based probiotics used in this study were apparently able to neutralize Cu toxicity in Nile tilapia. Keywords: copper, fisheries, fresh water, hematology, probiotics, testis structure.

Keywords: copper, fisheries, fresh water, hematology, probiotics, testis structure.

How to cite this article: Hayati A, Pramudya M, Soepriandono H (2021) The Ability of probiotics to ameliorate blood and gonad damage caused by copper toxicity in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), Veterinary World, 14(11): 2964-2970.

Received: 24-07-2021  Accepted: 11-10-2021     Published online: 25-11-2021

Corresponding author: Alfiah Hayati   E-mail: alfiah-h@fst.unair.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.2964-2970

Copyright: Hayati, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.