Ameliorative Effects of Dietary Chlorella vulgaris and β-glucan Against Chlorpyrifos-Induced Toxicity in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

The present study was conducted to investigate the toxic effects of chlorpyrifos on growth performance, hepatorenal function, and antioxidant status in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). One hundred and eighty fish (20 ± 6.1 g) were equally distributed into four groups: control group, chlorpyrifos group (0.3 mg/L), chlorpyrifos-CV group (5% CV), and chlorpyrifos-β-glucan group (0.1% β-glucan), and treatments were conducted for about 60 days. The results revealed that administration of chlorpyrifos significantly increased serum liver enzymes, system, innate immune response and comparing the protective role of dietary Chlorella vulgaris (CV) algae and β-glucan in intoxicated African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ). One uric acid, creatinine, and malondialdehyde (MDA) in different tissues. Meanwhile, glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in different tissues, as well as IgM, C-reactive protein (CRP), respiratory burst, lysozyme, and bactericidal activities were significantly decreased in the chlorpyrifos group. In addition, expression of TNF-α gene was up-regulated and IL-10 was down-regulated in spleen of chlorpyrifos-intoxicated fish. The treatment of chlorpyrifos-exposed fish with CV and β-glucan supplemented diets ameliorated hepatic damage and enhanced antioxidant activity and innate immune responses. Furthermore, dietary Chlorella vulgaris and β-glucan have a potent anti-inflammatory effect as they remarkably increased the expression of IL-10 and decreased TNF-α gene expression. The results also revealed that fish in chlorpyrifos-CV group had the highest survival rate, final body weight (FBW), and body weight gain (BWG). On the other hand, feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of control, chlorpyrifos-CV, and chlorpyrifos-β-glucan groups were higher than the chlorpyrifos group. However, the hepatosomatic index (HSI) and spleen-somatic index (SSI) were higher in the chlorpyrifos group than other experimental groups. Overall, CV and β-glucan can be recommended as a feed supplement to improve immunosuppression, oxidative damage, growth performance, and hemato-biochemical alterations induced by chlorpyrifos toxicity in African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) .