Dietary Echinacea angustifolia Extract Enhances Antioxidant and Immune Responses and Disease Resistance in Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Veterinary Medicine RUDN University 6 Miklukho-Maklaya Street Moscow 117198 Russia rudn.ru
- 2Comparative Endocrinology and Integrative Biology Center of Marine Sciences University of Algarve Faro Portugal ualg.pt
- 3Department of Fisheries Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources Gonbad Kavous University Gonbad Kavous Golestan Iran gonbad.ac.ir
- 4Department of Aquatic Animal Health Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran ut.ac.ir
- 5Inland Waters Aquatics Resources Research Center Iranian Fisheries Sciences Research Institute Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization Gorgan Iran ifsri.ir
Abstract
This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with a hydroalcoholic extract of Echinacea angustifolia (EE) on growth performance, feed utilization, mucosal and systemic immunity, antioxidant status, and disease resistance in common carp, Cyprinus carpio, fingerlings. Fish (initial body weight: 4.88 ± 0.08 g) were fed four experimental diets containing 0 (control), 1%, 2%, and 4% EE for 8 weeks. Growth performance, intestinal digestive enzyme activities, skin mucus and intestinal immune parameters, hepatic, plasma, and kidney antioxidant indices, stress indicators (cortisol and glucose), and post‐challenge mortality against Aeromonas hydrophila were evaluated. The EE extract exhibited a 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical‐scavenging activity of 95.5% ± 0.31% and an IC50 of 10.7% against A. hydrophila in vitro. The results demonstrated that dietary EE supplementation led to significant quadratic responses in growth performance and feed efficiency. Fish fed the 1% and 2% EE diets showed significantly higher final weight (10.00–10.13 g), weight gain (104.4%–106.8%), daily growth rate (DGR), specific growth rate (SGR), and production efficiency (PE) than those fed the 4% EE diet (9.30 g; 90.0%), whereas these variables did not differ significantly from the control (9.62 g; 99.7%). 1% and 2% EE significantly decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR; 1.43–1.45), compared with the control group (1.74) and the lowest FCR was observed in the 2% EE group. All EE‐supplemented groups exhibited significantly enhanced skin mucus immune parameters (increased lysozyme, total immunoglobulin (Ig), hemolytic activity, protease, peroxidase, ALP, and bactericidal activities) as well as intestinal immune and antioxidant parameters (elevated lysozyme, hemolytic activity, superoxide dismutase [SOD], and glutathione peroxidase [GPx], along with reduced malondialdehyde [MDA] levels). Following the A. hydrophila challenge, EE‐fed fish showed significantly lower mortality (20.0%–28.9% vs. 56.7% in control), attenuated cortisol and glucose stress responses, and better‐preserved antioxidant status across the liver, plasma, and kidney. Correlation analysis revealed three distinct clusters (growth–immunity, stress–immunity, and antioxidant–disease resistance), while exploratory random forest analysis identified mucosal immune parameters (mucus Ig, mucus bactericidal activity, and mucus lysozyme) as the variables most strongly associated with mortality, explaining 78.4% of the variance. The 4% inclusion level provided no additional benefit over the 1%–2% diets for most parameters. Overall, dietary EE did not improve growth relative to the control but enhanced feed efficiency, mucosal and systemic immunity, antioxidant defense, and disease resistance, with 1%–2% inclusion producing the most favorable responses among the tested levels under the present experimental conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{yousefi2026dietary,
title = {{Dietary Echinacea angustifolia Extract Enhances Antioxidant and Immune Responses and Disease Resistance in Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio}},
author = {Morteza Yousefi and Hamed Abdollahpour and Hossein Adineh and Sadaf Seyfollahi and Ali Taheri Mirghaed and Seyyed Morteza Hoseini},
journal = {Aquaculture Nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1155/anu/9410394},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1155/anu/9410394},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dietary Echinacea angustifolia Extract Enhances Antioxidant and Immune Responses and Disease Resistance in Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio
AU - Morteza Yousefi
AU - Hamed Abdollahpour
AU - Hossein Adineh
AU - Sadaf Seyfollahi
AU - Ali Taheri Mirghaed
AU - Seyyed Morteza Hoseini
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Aquaculture Nutrition
DO - 10.1155/anu/9410394
UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/anu/9410394
AB - This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with a hydroalcoholic extract of Echinacea angustifolia (EE) on growth performance, feed utilization, mucosal and systemic immunity, antioxidant status, and disease resistance in common carp, Cyprinus carpio, fingerlings. Fish (initial body weight: 4.88 ± 0.08 g) were fed four experimental diets containing 0 (control), 1%, 2%, and 4% EE for 8 weeks. Growth performance, intestinal digestive enzyme activities, skin mucus and intestinal immune parameters, hepatic, plasma, and kidney antioxidant indices, stress indicators (cortisol and glucose), and post‐challenge mortality against Aeromonas hydrophila were evaluated. The EE extract exhibited a 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical‐scavenging activity of 95.5% ± 0.31% and an IC50 of 10.7% against A. hydrophila in vitro. The results demonstrated that dietary EE supplementation led to significant quadratic responses in growth performance and feed efficiency. Fish fed the 1% and 2% EE diets showed significantly higher final weight (10.00–10.13 g), weight gain (104.4%–106.8%), daily growth rate (DGR), specific growth rate (SGR), and production efficiency (PE) than those fed the 4% EE diet (9.30 g; 90.0%), whereas these variables did not differ significantly from the control (9.62 g; 99.7%). 1% and 2% EE significantly decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR; 1.43–1.45), compared with the control group (1.74) and the lowest FCR was observed in the 2% EE group. All EE‐supplemented groups exhibited significantly enhanced skin mucus immune parameters (increased lysozyme, total immunoglobulin (Ig), hemolytic activity, protease, peroxidase, ALP, and bactericidal activities) as well as intestinal immune and antioxidant parameters (elevated lysozyme, hemolytic activity, superoxide dismutase [SOD], and glutathione peroxidase [GPx], along with reduced malondialdehyde [MDA] levels). Following the A. hydrophila challenge, EE‐fed fish showed significantly lower mortality (20.0%–28.9% vs. 56.7% in control), attenuated cortisol and glucose stress responses, and better‐preserved antioxidant status across the liver, plasma, and kidney. Correlation analysis revealed three distinct clusters (growth–immunity, stress–immunity, and antioxidant–disease resistance), while exploratory random forest analysis identified mucosal immune parameters (mucus Ig, mucus bactericidal activity, and mucus lysozyme) as the variables most strongly associated with mortality, explaining 78.4% of the variance. The 4% inclusion level provided no additional benefit over the 1%–2% diets for most parameters. Overall, dietary EE did not improve growth relative to the control but enhanced feed efficiency, mucosal and systemic immunity, antioxidant defense, and disease resistance, with 1%–2% inclusion producing the most favorable responses among the tested levels under the present experimental conditions.
SN - 1353-5773
SN - 1365-2095
ER -