Impact of Dietary Administration of Phytoestrogen Genistein on Somatic Growth of Cyprinus carpio var. communis

Abstract

The present study evaluates the effect of dietary phytoestrogen Genistein on growth performance of Cyprinus carpio communis. Genistein is a prominent phytoestrogen found in high concentrations in aquafeeds, particularly soybean meal (SBM) and soy protein concentrate. These phytoestrogens may exert adverse effects on fish due to their estrogenic activity; however, they may also exert beneficial effects owing to their antioxidant properties. A 90-day feeding trail was carried out to evaluate the effect of dietary phytoestrogen genistein on growth performance of Cyprinus carpio var. communis. The trail consisted of three treatment groups (T1, T2, T3) and control (C), each group maintained in four replicates. Four experimental diets with 30% crude protein were formulated containing genistein @ 0.0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 g/kg respectively in addition to the basal feed ingredients. The study evaluated different growth parameters specifically focusing on percentage weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER). The highest weight gain (75.48 ± 0.22 %) and SGR (0.63 ± 0.01) were observed in treatment group T3 while the lowest weight gain (71.86 ± 2.30 %) and SGR (0.60 ± 0.01) were recorded in treatment group T1. Feed conversion ratio was observed to be highest in control group (4.82 ± 0.12) and lowest in treatment group T3 (4.50 ± 0.09).  Protein efficiency ratio was slightly higher in T1 and T3 (0.07 ± 0.002) compared to control and treatment group T2 (0.06 ± 0.002). Across all parameters, no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed among the treatment groups. The study suggests that genistein’s influence may be more prominent in relation to reproductive endpoints rather than somatic growth.