Application Foreground of Stevioside in Aquaculture
Introduction
Lead (Pb) contamination in aquatic environments poses a significant threat to the health and well-being of aquatic organisms, including fish species. There is rising popularity of prebiotics and probiotics as food ingredients, due to the fact that they can mitigate cadmium and Pb toxicity in animals. Intriguingly, the natural sweeter stevioside, which is commonly utilized as sugar substitutes in a variety of food and beverage products, can be deemed as a prebiotic that enhances the gastrointestinal microflora by increasing beneficial bacteria and mitigates the adverse effects of Pb toxicity in thinlip mullet juveniles, showing favorable application foreground in enhancing fish health and improving aquaculture management practices.
Hazards of Pb to thinlip mullet juveniles
The thinlip mullet is a key component of the aquatic food chain, which is highly susceptible to the adverse effects of environmental contaminants, including Pb. Exposure to Pb can lead to impaired growth, altered biochemical profiles, oxidative stress and compromised immune response in thinlip mullet juveniles. Apart from these, hepatic damage is observed after Pb exposure, as manifested by increases in serum ALT and AST levels as well as adverse effects such as vascular dilatation of the central vein, vacuolation of hepatocytes, pyknosis of nuclei, and melanomacrophage alterations.
Mitigating effect of stevioside against Pb-induced adverse effects
Stevioside conspicuously improves the growth performance, regulates biochemical parameters (total protein, AST, and ALT) to a normal level as the control group and strengthens the antioxidant activity (SOD, CAT, and GPx) in thinlip mullet juveniles at a dose-dependent manner, while barely affecting their nutritional composition of whole-body tissues.
In addition, Pb-induced immunosuppression is markedly counteracted by the addition of stevioside in the diet, as indicated by the enhanced immune response (lysozyme, bactericidal activity, NBT% and ACH50 level) and downregulation of genes associated with immune function (IL-10 and Hepcidin) in the liver of thinlip mullet juveniles exposed to Pb.
Histopathologically, a gradual restoration of normal intestinal and hepatic architecture is seen following administration of stevioside, as evidenced by the improved structure of the intestine and the liver, with normal central vein and melanomacrophage aggregation.
Intestine Liver
Conclusion
Stevioside can mitigate lead toxicity in thinlip mullet juveniles, making great impacts upon their growth, metabolism, and immune function, providing new insight into alleviating the effects of environmentally toxic substances on aquatic organisms.
Reference
Shehata AI, Shahin SA, Elmaghraby AM, et al. Stevioside mitigates lead toxicity in thinlip mullet juveniles: Impacts on growth, metabolism, and immune function. Aquat Toxicol. Published online April 11, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2024.106910
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