Fenvalerate induced stress mitigation by dietary supplementation of multispecies probiotic mixture in a tropical freshwater fish, Labeo rohita (Hamilton)

Five experimental diets with various combinations of probiotics, namely T1 & T6 (basal feed (BF) without probiotics), T2 & T7 (BF + Bacillus subtilis + Lactococcus lactis), T3 & T8 (BF + L. lactis + Saccharomyces cerevisiae), T4 & T9 (BF + B. subtilis + S. cerevisiae) and T5 & T10 (BF + B. subtilis + L. lactis + S. cerevisiae) were fed to Labeo rohita fingerlings for 30 days. Treatment groups T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 were exposed to Fenvalerate, at a concentration of 1.79 μg L⁻¹. The SOD and CAT activity was significantly affected (P < 0.01) in fenvalerate treated groups. However, the supplementation of the three-probiotic mixture at equal concentration showed markedly reduced activity. Similarly, RBC, Hb, NBT, total protein and albumin values were reduced significantly (P < 0.01) in the fenvalerate exposed fish as compared to the probiotic supplemented fish. Fenvalerate exposure also showed increased serum ALP, ACP and Bilirubin values (P < 0.01) in comparison to the non-exposed fish. Histological observations of the gills, kidney and liver showed tissue degeneration after fenvalerate exposure, which however showed marked recovery on the three-probiotic mixture supplementation. Therefore, these results indicate that a mixture of multi-species probiotic supplementation in equal concentration acts beneficially in mitigating the stressful effects of fenvalerate.