The protective role of Artemisia annua against chlorpyrifos toxicity in Nile tilapia

The adverse effect of chlorpyrifos (CPF) in fish farms is well known. However, dietary supplementation of Artemisia annua (A. annua) may decrease the negative effect of chlorpyrifos because of the ameliorating effect of A. annua. The aim of this study was to see how A. annua ameliorated the toxic effects of CPF on fish growth, health, growth-related gene expression, and gills, liver, and intestinal histology for 30 days. 120 Nile tilapia fish were divided into four groups according to A. annua with/without CPF. The Cont group was fed a formulated basal diet without CPF water contamination. The Art group was fed on a diet supplemented with A. annua and without CPF-contaminated water. The CPF group was fed a formulated basal diet with CPF water contamination. The CPF + Art group was fed on a diet supplemented with A. annua and with CPF-contaminated water. The results of the study indicated that the mortality rate increased in the CPF group with obvious clinical signs and postmortem lesions. Growth parameters of Nile tilapia of CPF group (final body weight = 26.43 ± 0.98, weight gain = 5.07 ± 0.52, and feed intake = 11 ± 0.5) significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased when compared with the Cont group (final body weight = 33 ± 0.58, weight gain = 11.27 ± 0.37, and feed intake = 18.8 ± 0.85). Moreover, CPF-contaminated water led to a liver injury that was indicated by serum activities of ALT and AST (29.67 ± 0.67 and 86.67 ± 0.88, respectively) and decreased serum proteins (total protein = 3.04 ± 0.01, albumin = 1.02 ± 0.01, and globulin = 2.02 ± 0.01) when compared with the control group. The pathological lesions were observed in the gills, liver, and intestinal tissue, elucidate the ameliorative effect of Art. On the other side, the growth hormone receptor (GSH) expression wasn’t affected by the chlorpyrifos toxicity. While the Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) expression was downregulated by the chlorpyrifos toxicity. However, this negative effect is ameliorated by A. annua supplementation. The ameliorated effect of A. annua is demonstrated by the improvement of growth performance parameters, growth-related gene expression, biochemical markers, and histopathology of the different organs of Nile tilapia.