- 1
- Fish
Innate Immune System Group, Department of Cell Biology and Histology,
Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional "Campus
Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; Fish Nutrition
& Immunobiology Group, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação
Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros
do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos s/n, 4450-208, Porto, Portugal.
- 2
- Laboratory
of Analysis, Treatment and Valorization of Pollutants of the
Environment and Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir,
Tunisia.
- 3
- Fish Innate Immune System Group, Department
of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de
Excelencia Internacional "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia,
30100 Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: aesteban@um.es.
Abstract
Despite increasing interest in modulating the immune response of fish, providing a combination of probiotics and herbal
immunostimulants in aquafeed has rarely has been studied. The effects
on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) of the dietary administration of
fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) seeds alone (FE), or combined
with one of the following probiotic strains: Bacillus licheniformis
(FEBL), Lactobacillus plantarum (FELP) or Bacillus subtilis (FEBS) were
evaluated. Fish were fed a control or one of the supplemented diets for 3
weeks. After 2 and 3 weeks of the feeding trial, the abundance of
terminal carbohydrates, IgM levels, enzymatic activities (proteases,
alkaline phosphatase, esterase and ceruloplasmin) and bactericidal
activity were determined in skin mucus. Our results demonstrated that
the dietary administration of FE in combination with L. plantarum,
particularly, increased carbohydrate abundance, the activity of certain
enzymes such as ceruloplasmin, and bactericidal activity against the
pathogenic bacterium Photobacterium damselae and the non-pathogenic
bacterium B. subtilis in skin mucus at the end of the trial. The
carbohydrates most affected by the FELP diet were mannose/glucose,
N-acetyl-d-galactosamine and N-acetyl-β-d-glucosamine. Interestingly,
IgM levels were significantly higher in fish fed the FELP and FEBS diets
whilst protease activity generally increased in all supplemented diets,
which could suggests that the main effect in this activity was to the
result of FE supplementation although that fact cannot be confirmed
because the effects of probiotics addition alone were not studied. These
results suggest that the combined dietary administration of fenugreek
and L. plantarum will best enhance the skin mucosal immunity response of
gilthead seabream.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Fenugreek seeds; Fish mucosal immunity; Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata, L); Probiotics; Skin mucus; Teleosts
