Fernades M.C. , Costa D.S. , Silva A.V. , Lopes E.M. , Cardoso C.A.L. , Ventura A.S. , Tedesco M. , Mouriño J.L.P. , Martins M.L.

1 AQUOS-Aquatic Organisms Health Laboratory, Aquaculture Department, UFSC, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil 2 Center for Studies in Natural Resources, State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, UEMS, Dourados, Brazil 3 FCA-Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, UFGD, Dourados, Brazil
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 1   
Received: 20 Jan., 2025    Accepted: 10 Feb., 2025    Published: 25 Feb., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This study evaluated the hepatoprotective effect of açaí inclusion in the diets of juvenile Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio). For the experimental trial, 240 fish were distributed across 20 tanks (n = 12), using a completely randomized design that involved four treatments and one control group. The tested diets were: control (DC0.0%) with no açaí; 0.5% açaí (DA0.5%); 1.0% açaí (DA1.0%); 1.5% açaí (DA1.5%); and 2.0% açaí (DA2.0%) inclusion. The açaí-supplemented diets showed higher concentrations of phenolic compounds, tannins, and flavonoids, as well as superior antioxidant potential compared to the control group (p<0.05). After 30 days of feeding, four specimens from each tank were collected for histological analysis. The analysis of variance at 5% significance revealed a significant difference in the loss of the hepatic cord arrangement, with a reduction of 62.50 ± 13.06% in the control group (DC0.0%) compared to the other treatments. The DA2.0% diet exhibited greater congestion in the sinusoids (54.17 ± 20.87%) compared to the control (33.33 ± 11.68%). The control group also showed a higher number of mononuclear inflammatory infiltrates (72.92 ± 7.54%). Necrotic areas were more intense in the control group (64.58 ± 12.87%) and less pronounced in the DA1.5% diet (43.75 ± 24.13%). The results suggest that diets with intermediate levels of açaí can exert a hepatoprotective effect on Koi carp, indicating that diets with the inclusion of açaí for carp can help in growth and nutrient assimilation, since the liver tissue metabolizes a large amount of the substance, but additional studies are needed to determine the ideal dose and explore its application in other fish species.

Nutrition; Liver health; Ornamental aquaculture; Antioxidant