Efficacy of Zingiber officinale for the Modulation of Growth, Feed Utilisation and Health Status of Magur (Clarias batrachus) in Cage Culture System

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of dietary ginger (Zingiber officinale) powder on the growth, feed utilisation, innate immune response, serum biochemical parameters and haematological health of walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) in a cage culture system. Four experimental diets were formulated: a control diet (C, commercial feed without ginger powder), and three treatment diets supplemented with ginger powder at 3 g/kg (T₁), 5 g/kg (T₂) and 7 g/kg (T₃) of the commercial feed. Triplicates of 30 fish (initial weight: 3.68 ± 0.05 g) were randomly assigned to the dietary treatments and fed twice daily to satiation for 56 days. At the end of the trial, fish in the T₃ group exhibited significantly higher (p < 0.05) weight gain (226.47 ± 2.61%) and specific growth rate (2.11 ± 0.01%/day) compared to the control group. Additionally, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly lower in T₃ (1.18 ± 0.01), with all ginger-supplemented groups showing improved FCR relative to the control. Haematological parameters such as white blood cell (WBC) count (5.17 ± 0.15 × 10⁹/L), lymphocytes (65.13 ± 2.33 × 10⁹/L), red blood cell (RBC) count (0.15 ± 0.01 × 10¹²/L), haematocrit (HCT; 1.90 ± 0.25%), MCH (49.33 ± 2.11 pg) and platelet (MPV) count (968.33 ± 2.40 × 10⁹/L) were significantly improved in T₃. Biochemical indicators such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT; 17.59 ± 4.19 U/dL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; 160.76 ± 1.08 U/dL) and triglycerides (TGs; 44.83 ± 2.22 mg/dL) were significantly reduced in T₃, indicating improved liver function and lipid metabolism. Moreover, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and respiratory burst (RB) activity, key innate immune markers, were significantly enhanced in T₃ compared to the control. These findings demonstrate that dietary supplementation with ginger powder, particularly at 7 g/kg (T₃), positively influenced growth, feed utilisation, immunity, serum biochemistry and haematological health in C. batrachus.