Dietary Supplementation with a Blend of Hydrolyzable and Condensed Tannins Ameliorates Diet-Induced Intestinal Inflammation in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

The huge amount of fish farmed around the world (about 90 million tons in 2020) requires equally large quantities of feed, which is in a great part of animal origin, as it comes from the capture of aquatic species of little commercial value, such as herring, sardines, and krill. Over the years, this crucial natural resource has been decreasing, calling for alternative sources based on plant products that are cheaper and have fewer fluctuations in price and quantity. However, a plant-based diet causes intestinal inflammation, even in fish that are herbivores, such as carp, one of the most cultivated and consumed cyprinids in the world. Zebrafish is a cyprinid that is widely used as a model for biomedical research and more recently for aquaculture. In this study, it was used to develop intestinal inflammation and evaluate the effects of tannins, polyphenols with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating properties, in counteracting the intestinal proinflammatory effects of a plant-based diet. The results show that tannins can improve the zebrafish intestinal inflammation caused by a terrestrial-plant-based diet. The current study evaluated the effects of hydrolyzable and condensed tannins from chestnut and quebracho wood, respectively (TSP, Silvafeed((R))), on zebrafish with intestinal inflammation induced by a plant-based diet (basal diet). Four experimental diets were prepared as follows: the basal diet + 0 TSP, the basal diet + TSP at 0.9 g/kg of feed, the basal diet + TSP at 1.7 g/kg of feed, and the basal diet + TSP at 3.4 g/kg of feed. Eighty-four zebrafish (Danio rerio) were fed for 12 days with the experimental diets. In zebrafish fed the basal diet, intestine integrity appeared to be altered, with damaged intestinal villi, high immunoexpression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), and high expression of the cox2, interleukin 1 (il-1b), interleukin 8 (cxcl8-l1), and tnf alpha genes. The tannin treatment partially restored intestinal morphology and downregulated the expression of cytokines. The best activity was detected with 1.7 and 3.4 g/kg of feed. In the guts of all groups, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were the most represented phyla. The most represented genera were Plesiomonas and Sphingomonas, belonging to the Proteobacteria phylum; Cetobacterium, belonging to the Fusobacteria phylum; and Lactobacillus, belonging to the Firmicutes phylum. No significant differences were detected among groups, except for a slight decrease in the Fusobacteria phylum and slight increases in the Shewanella and Bacteroides genera with TSP. In conclusion, these results suggest that tannins can improve the zebrafish intestinal inflammation caused by a terrestrial-plant-based diet in a dose-dependent manner.

Automated summary

The large-scale fish farming industry requires a significant amount of animal-based feed, leading to the depletion of aquatic species. The development of alternative plant-based feed is hindered by its inflammatory effects on fish. This study used zebrafish as a model to investigate the potential of tannins to alleviate intestinal inflammation caused by a plant-based diet.