Background: Stunting is the disruption of growth in both humans and animals brought on by ingesting inadequate nourishment over an extended period or receiving inadequately nutritious food. Aim: This study aimed to analyze the effect of the extracted leaf of Moringa oleifera on body length, malondialdehyde (MDA), and IL-6 levels in zebrafish larvae to mitigate stunting induced by rotenone. Methods: This study used an embryo of zebrafish at the age of 2–72 hours post-fertilization (hpf), which were exposed to rotenone with a concentration of 12.5 ppb to induce stunting, as well as exposed to the leaf extract of M. oleifera using various concentrations (0.56, 1.12, 2.24 μg/ml). On day 6 post-fertilization (dpf), zebrafish embryos were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method to determine MDA levels and IL-6 inside their body. Results: Moringa oleifera leaf extract reduced IL-6 levels in the water. MDA level was increased in the group given rotenone and moringa leaf extract (p 0.05). Rotenone significantly reduced body length and increased IL-6 and MDA levels compared with controls. Moringa oleifera leaf extract improved body length in a dose-dependent manner, with the greatest effect at 2.24 μg/ml. IL-6 reduction was significant only at the highest dose, while lower doses improved growth without statistically lowering IL-6. MDA levels were paradoxically elevated in rotenone + moringa groups, likely reflecting assay interference, mineral-driven lipid peroxidation, or transient ROS burst during metabolic recovery. Conclusion: Moringa oleifera leaf extract effectively mitigates stunting in zebrafish embryos by reducing IL-6 levels and improving body length, despite elevated MDA levels. These findings support its potential as a safe, natural antiinflammatory intervention for early-life growth disturbance.
Mafruchati et al. (Thu,) studied this question.