title: Effects of dietary administration of fenugreek seeds, alone or in combination with probiotics, on growth performance parameters, humoral immune response and gene expression of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.).
abstract: The use of immunostimulants is considered a promising preventive practice that may help to maintain animal welfare and a healthy environment, while increasing production and providing higher profits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) of the dietary administration of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) seeds, alone or combined with one of the following probiotic strains: Bacillus licheniformis (TSB27), Lactobacillus plantarum or Bacillus subtilis (B46). Gilthead seabream were fed a control or one of the supplemented diets for 3 weeks. The effects of these supplemented diets on growth performance parameters and the humoral immune response (natural haemolytic complement, peroxidase, total IgM levels, proteases and antiproteases activities) were evaluated after 2 and 3 weeks of feeding. Simultaneously, the expression levels of some immune-relevant genes (igm, tcr-β, csfr1 and bd) were measured in the head-kidney. Interestingly, all probiotic supplemented diets increased seabream growth rates, especially the B. licheniformis supplemented diet. Generally, humoral immune parameters were enhanced by the dietary supplementation at the different time points measured. The results showed a significant increases in the immune parameters, principally in fish fed only fenugreek or fenugreek combined with B. subtilis. Furthermore, real time qPCR revealed that dietary supplementation significantly enhances the expression of immune-associated genes in the head-kidney, particularly igm gene expression. These results suggest that fenugreek alone or combined with one of the probiotic strains mentioned enhances the immune response of gilthead seabream, a species with one of the highest rates of production in marine aquaculture.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analysis, Treatment and Valorization of Pollutants of the Environment and Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahi
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Guardiola
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of "Scienze della Terra e del Mare" DiSTeM, Marine Biology Institute (Trapani), University of Palermo, Via Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analysis, Treatment and Valorization of Pollutants of the Environment and Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahdhi
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerezuela
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of "Scienze della Terra e del Mare" DiSTeM, Marine Biology Institute (Trapani), University of Palermo, Via Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santulli
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analysis, Treatment and Valorization of Pollutants of the Environment and Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Tunisia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakhrouf
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Esteban
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000276:immunology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D019936:Probiotics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D021541:Sea Bream / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D029910:Trigonella / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D029941:Fish Proteins; D010936:Plant Extracts; C056164:fenugreek seed meal
keywords: Fenugreek seeds; Gene expression; Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata, L.); Innate immune response; Probiotics; Teleosts