Modulatory effect of pomegranate peel against cold and salinity stress in the monosex Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

E. A. Badrey, Ahmed; M. S. Farrag, Mahmoud; M. M. Toutou, Mohamed; A. Moustafa, Mohsen; G. M. Osman, Alaa

doi:10.21608/ejabf.2021.152628

Modulatory effect of pomegranate peel against cold and salinity stress in the monosex Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

10.21608/ejabf.2021.152628

Abstract

A total of 360 monosex Nile tilapia (O. niloticus) fingerlings (mean individual initial weight = 30.8 ± 2.0 g) were divided into eight equal treatments, including a control. Each treatment, including the control, consisted of three equal replicates (15 fish per replicate). The fish in the control group were fed a basal diet containing 25% protein. In the other 7 treatments, the basal diet was supplemented with pomegranate peel at a rate of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20%. For 90 days, diets were fed 3 times daily at a rate of 7 to 5% of fish body weight. Afterwords, 3 fish from each replicate of the control and treatment groups were exposed to a temperature of 4ºC. The first mortality was recorded at 47.3 seconds in the control group. While Nile tilapia fed with pomegranate peel exhibited a delay in the time of mortality compared to the control. Also, 3 fish from each replicate of the control and treatment groups were exposed to different salinities of 15, 25, and 37‰ for 6 days. A 100% mortality was recorded in the fish exposed to 25 and 37‰ salinity, while those exposed to 15‰ salinity exhibited 0% mortality. The present results showed that feeding pomegranate-enriched diets could improve the stressors resistance and delay mortality of the monosex Nile tilapia.

Keywords