Heamato-immunological and physiological responses of Labeo rohita fingerlings to dietary fermented Jatropha curcas protein concentrate

Jatropha protein concentrate (JPC) prepared from jatropha seed cake is toxic due to the presence of phorbol ester and antinutritional factors like tannin, trypsin inhibitor, phytate and non-starch polysaccharides. JPC was detoxified by solid state fermentation (SSF) and a feeding trial of 45 days was conducted to study the response of feeding fermented JPC (FJPC) on growth, haemato-immunological and physiological responses in rohu fingerlings. Seven iso-nitrogenous diets such as control (without JPC or FJPC), J5 (5% JPC), J10 (10% JPC), J20 (20% JPC), FJ5 (5% FJPC), FJ10 (10% FJPC) and FJ20 (20% FJPC) were prepared and fed twice daily. The weight gain and specific growth rate values showed an overall, linear and quadratic trend with similar value recorded in the control and FJ fed groups. Feed efficiency also showed an overall significant effect with a higher feed efficiency value recorded in the control (60.50) group which was similar to FJ (54.21-58.37) fed groups, while JPC fed groups registered the lowest value. The haematological studies showed a significantly (p < 0.05) lower red blood cells (RBC) and heamoglobin in all JPC fed groups and 5% FJPC group compared to control and other FJPC groups. The 10% and 20% JPC fed groups showed the highest blood glucose level than any other groups. Serum total protein and albumin followed similar trend as that of RBC and haemoglobin. The highest globulin value were observed in FJ10 group which was significantly different (P < 0.05) to other groups and lowest value was recorded in J20 group. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in liver was higher in J20, while in muscle, J10 and J20 registered the highest value compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Our study revealed that protein concentrate prepared from Jatropha cake cannot be fed directly to rohu without detoxification and solid state fermentation appears to be an ideal approach. Overall, FJPC can be utilized in the diet of rohu at 20% without any detrimental effect on heamato-immunological and physiological response.