Aquaculture Sciences

Aquaculture Sciences

The effect of ethanolic extract of summer savory (Satureja hortensis) on growth indices and expression of appetite and growth genes in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Fatemeh Gharibi Jooybari
Masoumeh Bahrekazemi
Mojtaba Keshavarz
Somayeh Bahram
Rohollah Javadian
Department of Fisheries, QaS.C., Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran.
Abstract
Plants contain active phytochemicals that can affect metabolism and gene expression pathways and improve aquatic animals’ growth. So, in this study, to investigate the effect of adding savory extract (Satureja hortensis) to the diet of zebra fish (Danio rerio), 240 fish with an average weight of 65.37±5.9 mg were fed diets containing 0.5, 1, and 2% ethanolic savory extract for 8 weeks. The control group was also fed only the basal diet. The results showed that adding savory extract to the diet improved growth indices compared to the control group. The highest final weight, weight gain percentage, and specific growth rate were observed in the treatment receiving 2% extract, which differed significantly from the other groups (P<0.05). Although food intake increased significantly with increasing savory extract, the difference in feed conversion ratio was not significant (P>0.05). Examination of the expression levels of genes related to appetite and growth showed that a relative increase in the expression of all three genes, ghrelin, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), was observed in fish fed savory extract, but this increase was only significant in the case of IGF-1 compared to the control group (P<0.05). Therefore, a savory ethanolic extract at up to 2% improved growth indices in zebrafish by increasing appetite and food intake and by regulating downstream metabolic pathways of the growth axis, thereby increasing IGF-1 expression. This result can be generalized to other species due to the similarity between zebrafish growth and metabolic pathways and those of other species.
Keywords
;">Growth parameters, ;">Zebra fish, ;">Savory extract, ;">Growth genes.
Subjects
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Aquaculture Sciences
Volume 14, Issue 1
June 2026
Pages 69-79