Dietary exposure of Cr nanoparticles to Catla catla fingerlings: Effects on mineral digestibility and carcass composition
Nisar Ahmad, Syed Makhdoom Hussain, Shafaqat Ali, Muhammad Rizwan, Ameer Fawad Zahoor, Ashraf M. Ahmed, Awais Zulfiqar
Abstract
This research aimed to see how effectively chromium nanoparticles (Cr-NPs) improve minerals absorption and carcass composition in Catla catla fingerlings given sunflower meal based diets. In a 90-day experimental design, seven test diets were supplemented with graded levels of nano-Cr (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 mg kg−1) and 15 fingerlings (initial weight; 6.83 ± 0.077 g) were kept in triplicate (25–28 °C). Feed was provided to fingerlings at the rate of 5% of their wet weight and fed twice a day. As an inert marker, chromic oxide was used. The highest effectiveness in minerals absorption (Ca, Na, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, P, Cr, Mg, Zn and Al) was observed at 2 mg kg−1 Cr-NPs supplementation. These levels were statistically more significant (p < 0.05) than the control and other experimental diets. The most optimum results in terms of carcass (crude protein; 62% and ether extraction; 14%) were observed in fingerlings given 2 mg kg−1 doses. In the current study, it was observed that feeding sunflower meal to C. catla fingerlings with supplementation of 2 mg kg−1 of Cr-NPs significantly (p < 0.05) improved mineral absorption and body composition.