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Abstract This study examines the use of dragon fruit peel (DFP) powder as a dietary supplement on growth performance, immune responses, and gene expression of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, cultured within biofloc systems. A total of 300 Nile tilapia fingerlings (14.64 ± 0.09 g) were subjected to five dietary treatments, with DFP added to a basal diet at doses of 0, 20, 40, 80, and 160 g kg−1 DFP. Growth and immunological responses were assessed after 4 and 8 weeks of feeding, and the transcriptional level of immune and antioxidant‐related genes was measured after 8 weeks. Fish fed diets containing DFP exhibited significantly greater weight gain, faster growth, and enhanced levels of key indicators of immunity than control fish (p

This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with different doses (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 g kg−1) of powdered avocado seed (AS) on the growth performance, immunological response, and gene expression of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) reared in a biofloc system over 8 weeks. A total of 300 Nile tilapia fingerlings (average weight 14.67 ± 0.07 g) were randomly assigned to five treatment groups, each with three replicates, and 20 fish per tank. The results demonstrated significant improvements (p < 0.05) in growth and immune response in AS-supplemented fish, particularly in those fed the 10 g kg−1 AS diet (AS10), which showed the most notable increases. In contrast, fish fed higher AS doses (AS20, AS40, and AS80) exhibited no statistically significant differences compared to the control group (p > 0.05). Additionally, the AS10 group exhibited a significant upregulation (p < 0.05) in the mRNA expression of key immune-related genes (IL-1, IL-8, and LBP) and antioxidant-related genes (GST-α, GPX, and GSR) in both liver and intestinal tissues, indicating enhanced immune and antioxidant responses. The highest expression levels were found in the AS10 group. These findings suggest that the inclusion of 10 g kg−1 powdered avocado seed in the diet substantially enhances growth, immune function, and gene expression in Nile tilapia reared in a biofloc system. The results highlight avocado seed as a promising feed additive for improving the sustainability of Nile tilapia aquaculture.

This study aimed to assess the impacts of dietary supplementation with passionfruit (Passiflora edulis) peel powder (PSPP) on the growth, immune response, and expression of immune and antioxidant-related genes in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) maintained in a biofloc system. Fish were fed basal diets supplemented with different doses of PSPP at 10 g kg−1 (PSPP10), 20 g kg−1 (PSPP20), 40 g kg−1 (PSPP40), and 80 g kg−1 (PSPP80). The basal diet, without PSPP-supplementation, was used as a control at 0 g kg−1 (PSPP0). We observed that the dietary supplementation groups fed different levels of PSPP exhibited no substantial difference or only slight increases in growth performance and immunological response in Nile tilapia (p > 0.05), whereas fish fed diets supplemented with PSPP at concentrations of 10 g kg−1, 20 g kg−1, and 40 g kg−1 had significantly higher mRNA transcripts (approximately 1.5–4.5 fold) of immune (il-1, il-8, and lbp) and antioxidant (gst-α, gpx, and gsr) gene expressions than fish in the control treatment group (0 g kg−1). These findings suggest that dietary supplementation with PSPP may effectively stimulate the immune and antioxidant defense system and may function as feed additives in Nile tilapia cultured in a biofloc system.

We investigated, herein, the effects of dietary inclusion of sugarcane bagasse powder (SB) on Nile tilapia development, mucosal and serum immunities, and relative immune and antioxidant genes. Fish (15.12 ± 0.04 g) were provided a basal diet (SB0) or basal diet incorporated with SB at 10 (SB10), 20 (SB20), 40 (SB40), or 80 (SB80) g kg−1 for 8 weeks. Our results demonstrated that the dietary incorporation of sugarcane bagasse powder (SB) at 20 and 40 g kg−1 significantly ameliorated FW, WG, and SGR as opposed to fish fed basal, SB10, and SB80 diets. However, no significant changes in FCR and survivability were observed between the SB supplemented diets and the control (basal diet). The mucosal immunity exhibited significantly higher SMLA and SMPA activities (p < 0.005) in fish treated with SB diets after eight weeks. The highest SMLA and SMPA levels were recorded in fish fed SB80 followed by SB20, SB40, and SB10, respectively. For serum immunity, fish fed SB incorporated diets significantly ameliorated SL and RB levels (p < 0.05) compared with the control. However, SP was not affected by the inclusion of SB in any diet throughout the experiment. The expression of IL1, IL8, LBP, GSTa, GPX, and GSR genes in the fish liver was significantly increased in fish fed the SB20 and SB10 diets relative to the basal diet fed fish (p < 0.05); whereas only the IL8, LBP, and GPX genes in the intestines were substantially augmented via the SB20 and SB80 diets (p < 0.05). IL1 and GSR were not influenced by the SB incorporated diets (p > 0.05). In summary, sugarcane bagasse powder (SB) may be applied as a feed additive to improve growth performance, immune response, and immune and antioxidant-related gene expression in Nile tilapia.