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Physiological activity of Aloe vera in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) inoculated with Aeromonas hydrophila

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Abstract

Aloe vera is a traditional medicinal plant; however, its use in fish is fairly recent. We evaluated the effects of dietary A. vera on stress, innate immunity, and energy metabolism in pacu inoculated with Aeromonas hydrophila. For 7 days, 192 fish were fed with diets supplemented with 0% (control), 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% of the plant extract and then inoculated with bacteria and sampled 3, 6, and 24 h later. All concentrations of A. vera reduced basal levels of cortisol, and 1.0% reduced cortisol levels more intensely 3 h after inoculation. A. vera increased the basal respiratory activity of leukocytes/RAL (0.5 and 1.0%), increased the serum levels of lysozyme (1.0 and 2.0%) 6 h after inoculation, and increased the activity of the complement system after 3 h. Spleen somatic index/SSI increased with 1.0 and 2.0% A. vera. A. vera also promoted metabolic effects. It increased basal levels of lipids in the liver and muscle, as well as hepatosomatic index (1.0%) and, 3 h after inoculation, prevented the reduction of serum triglyceride (1.0%) and reduced the mesenteric fat (1.0%). Bacterial inoculation increased RAL from 3 to 24 h and lysozyme levels at 24 h, increased serum cholesterol at 24 h, and decreased serum triglyceride from 3 to 24 h, regardless of A. vera. We concluded that A. vera offered for only 7 days had stress-reducing effects, stimulated innate immunity, protected triglyceride levels in blood, lipid depots in the liver and muscle, and directed the energy mobilization to visceral depots.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Centro de Aquicultura da UNESP (CAUNESP) for supplying the fish for the research and the Laboratório de Microbiologia e Parasitologia de Organismos Aquáticos for supplying the bacteria inoculum.

Funding

The present research has been granted by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) [process number: 142171/2016-6].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Aquicultura, Campus de Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista UNESP, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castelane, S/N, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, 14884-900, Brazil

    Rudney Weiber Silva de Assis & Elisabeth Criscuolo Urbinati

  2. Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus de Jaboticabal, Universidade Estadual Paulista UNESP, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castelane, S/N, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, 14884-900, Brazil

    Elisabeth Criscuolo Urbinati

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  1. Rudney Weiber Silva de Assis
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All authors contributed to the design of the experiment. The experimental series were conducted by R.W.S.A and supervised by E.C.U. Assays and data analysis were performed by R.W.S.A. with the help from E.C.U. The manuscript was written by both authors.

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Correspondence to Elisabeth Criscuolo Urbinati.

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de Assis, R.W.S., Urbinati, E.C. Physiological activity of Aloe vera in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) inoculated with Aeromonas hydrophila. Fish Physiol Biochem 46, 1421–1430 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-020-00800-0

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