Biophytum sensitivum: a promising herbal diet supplement for enhancing growth, immune response, antioxidant status, and disease resistance in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Authors

Akshay Thuruthiyil Rajesh, Preetham Elumalai

Published in

Fish physiology and biochemistry. Volume 52. Issue 4. Jun 19, 2026. Epub Jun 19, 2026.

Abstract

The present study evaluated growth performance, immune responses, antioxidant activity, and disease resistance to S. agalactiae infection in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) supplemented with Biophytum sensitivum (B. sensitivum), commonly known as Little Tree Plant, Sensitive Plant, or Mukkutti. Three hundred Nile tilapia (15 ± 2 g/fish) were randomly distributed into four groups (25 fish per tank) in triplicate. The four experimental groups included a control (C) with no B. sensitivum supplementation and three treatment groups, Diet 1 (D1), Diet 2 (D2), and Diet 3 (D3), with 1%, 2%, and 4% B. sensitivum supplementation, respectively. The feeding trial lasted for 56 days, and all the groups were challenged with S. agalactiae and observed for survival for 21 days. The results revealed significant improvements in growth indices and immune parameters. Compared with those in the control groups, lysozyme activity, respiratory burst activity, and myeloperoxidase activity were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in all B. sensitivum-supplemented groups, particularly at D1. The total IgM antibody level was also significantly elevated at D1(P < 0.05). The relative immune gene expression levels of IL-8, TNF-α, and IgM, were significantly increased in the B. sensitivum-supplemented groups (P < 0.05) when compared to the control group. However, in antioxidant gene expression of SOD, D2 was significantly higher compared to other dietary groups, but it was downregulated when compared to the control. The histological changes in the tissues after the infection of S. agalactiae were improved in the B. sensitivum-supplemented groups. A higher survival rate of 73.3% was observed in the D1 group than in the D2 (70%), D3 (56.6%), and control groups (45%). These findings implied that dietary supplementation with 1% B. sensitivum improved the growth, immunological response, antioxidant status, and disease resistance of Nile tilapia to S. agalactiae.

PMID:
42319543
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 19 Jun 2026.

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