Antagonistic Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Dietary Supplementation Against Chronic Copper Waterborne Exposure on Growth, Behavioral, Biochemical, and Gene Expression Alterations of African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

Journal Article

2024

Published in: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-024-04115-6

African catfish · Copper toxicity · Zinc oxide nanoparticles · Chronic stress · Apoptosis

The harmful impact of waterborne copper (Cu) as a common abiotic stressor in aquatic environments has gained much more
interest. The present study aimed to investigate the utilization of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) dietary supplementation
to mitigate the chronic toxicity of Cu in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Two hundred and forty fish (92.94 ± 0.13 g) were
assigned into six groups for 60 days. Control (C), ZnONPs20, and ZnONPs30 groups were fed on basal diets fortified with 0,
20, and 30 mg kg−
1 ZnONPs without Cu exposure. Cu, Cu + ZnONPs20, and Cu + ZnONPs30 groups were exposed to Cu at
a dose of 10 mg L−
1 and fed on basal diets fortified with 0, 20, and 30 mg kg−
1 ZnONPs, respectively. The results revealed
that the Cu-exposed fish experienced abnormal clinical signs and behavioral changes. The growth indices and acetylcholine
esterase activity were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in the Cu group. Meanwhile, hepatorenal and serum stress indices
(P < 0.05) were significantly elevated with chronic Cu exposure. In addition, a higher expression of stress (P < 0.05) (heat
shock protein 60 and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha) and apoptotic-related genes (C/EBP homologous protein, caspase-3,
and Bcl-2 Associated X-protein) with down-regulation (P < 0.05) of the anti-apoptotic-related genes (B-cell lymphoma 2
and proliferating cell nuclear antigen) was noticed in the Cu-exposed fish. Histopathological alterations in the gills, liver,
kidney, and spleen were markedly reported in the Cu-exposed group. The dietary supplementation with ZnONPs significantly
alleviated the negative impacts of chronic waterborne-Cu exposure on growth performance, physiological changes, gene
expression, and tissue architecture, especially at 30 mg kg−
1 diet level. In particular, the inclusion of ZnONPs at the 30 mg
kg−
1 diet level produced better outcomes than the 20 mg kg−
1 diet. Overall, ZnONPs could be added as a feed supplement in
the C. gariepinus diet to boost the fish's health and productivity and alleviate the stress condition brought on by Cu exposure.

• Publication Work Type: original article
• Publisher Name: Springer
• Publishing City: Riyadh
• Pages: 1-17