This study is the first to explore the effects of dietary supplementation with chitosan nanoparticles (CHNPs) loaded with berberine (B) and curcumin (CR), either individually or in combination, within high-carbohydrate diets (HCD) on growth performance, health status, and immune-inflammatory gene expression in Nile tilapia. A total of 150 healthy Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings (8.21 ± 0.08 g) were randomly assigned to five groups: control (29% carbohydrate), HCD (42% carbohydrate), and three supplemented groups; B-CHNPs (100 mg berberine/kg HCD), CR-CHNPs (100 mg curcumin/kg HCD), and B-CR-CHNPs (100 mg berberine + curcumin (50:50)/kg HCD) for 100 days. The B-CR-CHNPs treatment significantly enhanced growth, feed utilisation, protein efficiency, digestive enzyme activities, blood protein levels, liver function, and lipid metabolism compared to the HCD group (p < 0.05). Dietary supplementation with Berberine and Curcumin effectively reversed the aberrant changes in liver tissues caused by HCD, restoring hepatic morphology to a state closely resembling normal conditions. Additionally, the dietary treatments significantly enhanced antioxidant status by reducing malonaldehyde levels and increasing total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase activity. B-CR-CHNPs treatment effectively restored the suppressed expression of IgM and LZM genes in the liver of HCD-fed fish. In contrast, the elevated hepatic expression of pro-inflammatory genes TNF-α and IL-1β induced by the HCD was significantly reduced, with the greatest reduction observed in the B-CR-CHNPs group. Berberine and Curcumin showed strong binding to antioxidant, immune, and inflammatory targets. Supplementing Nile tilapia diets with 100 mg B-CR-CHNPs improved growth and mitigated HCD-induced liver damage by modulating metabolism, immunity, and redox balance.
Elmorsy et al. (Thu,) studied this question.