Protective effects of hesperidin against aflatoxin B1–triggered oxidative, inflammatory, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptotic responses in Clarias gariepinus

In this study, the restorative ability of hesperidin (HSP; 150 mg/kg diet) was studied against food-borne aflatoxin B 1 (ATB1; 19.70 µg/kg diet) in African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ). A total of 160 fish (average weight=58.34 ± 0.39 g; average length= 16.00 ± 0.50 cm) were divided into four groups, each of which had four replicates over a period of 60 days. The control and HSP groups were given basal diets containing 0 and 150 mg/kg HSP without ATB1. The ATB1 group was fed on a basal diet containing 19.70 µg/kg ATB1 + 0 mg/kg HSP, while the HSP+ATB1 group was fed on 19.70 µg/kg ATB1 + 150 mg/kg HSP. The results showed that ATB1 inhibited the growth of fish by reducing the final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, and average daily weight gain. ATB1 decreased antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase), while it increased malondialdehyde level and fish mortality (22.50 %). In addition, ATB1 exposure increased serum stress (cortisol and glucose) and inflammatory (C-reactive protein) biomarkers and reduced immune indices (lysozyme and complement 3). In addition, ATB1 boosted the expression of toll like receptors ( tlr-7 , tlr-8, and tlr-9 ) and inflammatory markers (nuclear factor kappa β65 and interleukin-1β), while inhibited the expression of the anti-inflammatory gene (interleukin-10). Furthermore, the autophagy was inhibited in the ATB1 exposed fish through upregulation of V-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog and downregulation of the microtubule-associated protein light chain kinase 3-II expression. ATB1 induced endoplasmic reticulum stress (activated mitogen-activated protein kinase-1 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and apoptosis (activation of the Bcl-2 associated X-protein and cysteine-aspartic protease-9). On the contrary, dietary HSP boosted the growth and immune-antioxidant responses, reduced mortality (10.00 %), improved the autophagy, and mitigated the inflammatory/apoptotic cascades evoked by ATB1 exposure. We conclude that dietary HSP (150 mg/kg) was useful for the mitigation of the bad effects of the ATB1 exposure in C. gariepinus . • Aflatoxin B 1 (ATB1; 19.70 µg/kg diet) induces immune suppression in Clarias gariepinus. • ATB1 elevates serum stress markers, causes oxidative stress, and inhibits autophagy. • ATB1 initiates inflammatory, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptotic signals. • Hesperidin diet (HSP; 150 mg/kg diet) alleviates the consequences of ATB1 in C. gariepinus. • HSP enhances antioxidant-immune responses during ATB1exposure.