Assessment of turmeric powder supplemented diets on vitellogenesis activity, liver function, gonadal maturation, and growth of female Javaen barb (Systomus orphoides)

The Javaen barb is a native fish in Indonesian inland waters with economic value and potential as a cultured fish resource and ornamental commodity. To date, the development of Javaen barb fish farming remains limited, particularly due to sub-optimal physiological indicators. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of turmeric powder supplementation on increasing vitellogenesis activity, liver fucntion, gonadal maturity, and growth in female Javaen barb fish (BW of 81.43 ± 7.02 g). An experiment was performed experimentally with a fully randomised design encompassing four treatment groups with turmeric powder supplementation in differing quantities, namely K0) control (no turmeric powder supplementation), K1) 100 mg/100 g feed, K2) 250 mg/100 g feed, and K3) 500 mg/100 g feed. Each treatment was replicated six times. Feeding was carried out ad libitum three times a day for 90 days of rearing. The results showed that supplementation with 250 mg of turmeric powder/100 g of feed produced the most balanced overall response, enhancing vitellogenesis activity, physiological indicators, gonadal maturity, and growth, while maintaining acceptable liver physiological status. The gonadal maturity stage (GMS) of Javaen barb fish supplemented with turmeric powder (250 and 500 mg/100 g feed) reached the final position (GMS IV), whereas the control treatment was only in GMS II and III.