EFFECT OF GINGER ON SOME HEMATOLOGICAL ASPECTS AND IMMUNE SYSTEM IN NILE TILAPIA.

EFFECT OF GINGER ON SOME HEMATOLOGICAL ASPECTS AND IMMUNE SYSTEM IN NILE TILAPIA.

Elsayed A.M. Shokr¹ and Mohamed E.M.²

¹Fish Physiology Department, Central Laboratory for Aquaculture Research, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

²Zoonotic Diseases Department, Veterinary Medicine College, Zagazig University, Egypt.

Abstract

Ginger is the substance which stimulates the specific defense systems of living organism by enhancing the resistance to pathogens during stressful periods. So, this study was carried out to evaluated the immuno-stimulatory effects of dietary powdered ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale), in Nile tilapia. The fish were hand-fed with a diet containing (3gm/kg, 6gm/kg, 9gm/kg, 12gm/kg and 15gm/kg) on some hematological and immunological status of Nile tilapia. A total of 180 apparently healthy Nile tilapia from Abbasa farm
with an average body weight of 100 ± 1gm were used. The fish were randomly divided into 6 equal triplicate groups (control group and 5 treated groups, each replicate contained 10fish). The fish were fed 3 times daily at rate of 3% of body weight for 7 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, various parameters of hematology including haematocrit (Hct), haemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC) and immunological parameters including white blood cell (WBC leukocytes), lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, basophiles, acidophiles and thrombocytes were determined. The results confirmed that fish fed with powdered ginger rhizome showed significant immune-stimulatory effect, increasing WBC, haematocrit (Hct), RBC values compared with the control group (p < 0.05). These results indicate that dietary powdered ginger rhizome stimulates the immune system of the Nile tilapia. The results revealed that the fish fed diets contained ginger had a significant increase in platelets, MCHC but decrease in MCV and MCH. The different doses of ginger causes also increase in the eloctrolytes of blood Nile tilapia. The different doses of ginger causes decreased in the glucose, cholesterol, triglecrides, HDL. CH, LDL CH, creatinine, urea and uric acid in the Nile tilapia. Also, decreased in AST, ALT and ALP in serum of Nile tilapia. Lysozyme activity and immunoglobulin M (IgM) were significantly improved due to supplementation of the diets with ginger. It could be concluded that the ginger effect in fish as antibiotics and therapeutic agents, had significantly additive benefit in immune status of fish compared with the control.

Key words: Ginger, Nile tilapia, hematology, immunology, electrolytes.