Dietary Brown Propolis Extract Modulated Nonspecific Immune System and Intestinal Morphology of Pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus

Abstract The immunomodulatory and growth promoter effects of brown propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) were determined in pacu. Fish (28.4±0.4 g) were randomly distributed into 12 polyethylene circular tanks (250 L, 30 fish per tank) and fed for 60 days with a commercial diet (32% crude protein) supplemented with 0.0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5% (v/w) of PEE in a totally randomized experimental design (n=3). Fish organic defense cells numbers such as thrombocytes and neutrophils increased (p0.05) by treatments. Moreover, dietary PEE decreased (p