Effects of Partial and Full Dietary Substitution of Fish Meal and Soybean Meal by Sunflower Meal on Growth Performance, Feed Consumption, Body Indices, Serum Chemistry and Intestine Morphology of Oreochromis niloticus

A 03-months feeding experiment was designed to study the effects of partial and full dietary substitution of fish meal and soybean meal with sunflower meal (SFM) on growth performance, feed consumption, body indices, serum chemistry and intestine morphology of Oreochromis niloticus. Five isonitrogenous and isocaloric dietary treatments: T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 were prepared by supplementing SFM at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% respectively and fed to fish (4 ± 0.07 g) in triplicates. The growth performance and feed consumption in O. niloticus was significantly (p < 0.05) improved and body indices was significantly reduced in groups fed with T1 (control), T2 and T3 however, survival rate was remained unaffected among all dietary treatments. Significantly increased whole-body protein, serum total protein and albumin content was found in groups fed with T1 (control), T2 and T3, compared to T4 and T5 groups whereas, whole-body lipid content was significantly elevated in T5 group. In contrast, serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT) activity was significantly elevated in groups fed with T4 and T5. Additionally, serum triglycerides and cholesterol level were significantly increased in group T1 compared to other groups however, glucose and creatinine were not affected by dietary treatments. Uran`s pooled score for intestinal histology was significantly increased in SFM supplemented treatments as compared to control group. In conclusion, replacement of SBM with SFM up to 50% is possible without negative impacts on growth performance and health status of O. niloticus.