Enhancement of growth, antioxidative status, nonspecific immunity, and disease resistance in gibel carp (Carassius auratus) in response to dietary Flos populi extract

This study investigated the effects of dietary Flos populi extract (FPE) on the growth, antioxidation capability, innate immune response, and disease resistance in gibel carp. A total of 480 fish were fed with five different diets containing 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 g kg(−1) FPE (designated as control, D0.5, D1.0, D1.5, or D2.0 groups) for 45 days. The fish were challenged with A. hydrophila after the feeding trial. Compared with the control, the feed efficiency (FE), weight gain (WG), final body weight (FBW), and specific growth rate (SGR) were significantly improved in groups D1.0 and D1.5. Dietary FPE significantly increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) activities, as well as glutathione (GSH) content. The contents of protein carbonyl (PCC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum decreased significantly. Additionally, FPE supplementation in diets resulted in significant improvement in serum lysozyme (LZM) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities, as well as immunoglobulin M (IgM) and complement 3 (C3) concentrations. The hepatic antioxidant enzymes (CAT and SOD) activities increased, whereas content of MDA decreased in fish treated with dietary FPE than those of control both pre- and post-challenged. After 12 h-challenge, an obvious downregulation of hepatic Kelch-like-ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), splenic tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1β, and toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) mRNA levels was observed in fish treated with dietary FPE, whereas hepatic Nrf2 transcription level was upregulated compared to the control. Furthermore, compared to group D0.5, higher relative percent survival (RPS) was observed in gibel carp fed dietary 1.0–2.0 g/kg FPE. Our results reveal that FPE supplemented diet has a stimulatory effect on antioxidant capacity and nonspecific immune response, along with improved growth performance and enhanced resistance against A. hydrophila infection in juvenile gibel carp.