Effects of dietary Hyphaene thebaica powder on reproductive performance, physiological parameters, growth, and disease resistance in Clarias gariepinus

Medicinal plants are currently receiving a lot of emphasis in the fish diet due to their high nutritional and economic worth. The current study is a pioneer attempt to evaluate the effect of Hyphaene thebaica (HT) powder, namely doum palm fruit powder, as a dietary supplement on the reproductive performance, biochemical, and growth parameters, besides histological features of gonads of African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus L.). Moreover, its antifungal potential against Candida albicans was also assessed in vivo and in vitro. Fish ( n = 90; body weight: 181.49 ± 0.38 g for male and 181.93 ± 0.40 g for female) were randomly distributed into three groups [30 fish/group (15 males: 15 females), 10 fish/replicate]. For 70 days, the fish were fed diets supplemented with three levels of HT 0, 1, and 1.5% (HT0, HT1, and HT1.5), respectively, where the HT0 group served as a control. The results revealed that the growth variables (final body weight and body weight gain) and serum growth hormone level were significantly elevated ( P < 0.05) in females of HT-fed groups in a dose-dependent manner more than the males. The gonadosomatic index values showed marked enhancement ( P < 0.05) in both males and females of the HT1.5 group compared to other groups. Females had a higher serum level of calcium and potassium than males ( P < 0.01). Males fed on a diet supplemented with HT1.5 showed an increase in the serum level of calcium. Dietary HT (HT1.5 diet followed by HT1 diet) showed a notable enhancement in the concentrations of testosterone and 17β estradiol for males ( P < 0.05). Histologically, an improvement in the tissue architecture of gonads was observed in HT-fed groups for both males and females. The lowest cumulative mortality after the C. albicans challenge was observed in males and females of the HT1.5 group (13.33 and 20%), followed by the HT1 group (26.67 and 33.33%), respectively. Moreover, HT showed an in vitro antifungal capability with an inhibitory zone of 14.33 and 18.66 mm for HT (1 and 1.5 mg/mL), respectively. The outcomes showed that HT might be a feed supplement for the sustainable aquaculture sector to boost growth and reproductive performance and protect C. gariepinus against C. albicans infection.