Detoxification and antioxidant effects of garlic and curcumin in Oreochromis niloticus injected with aflatoxin B1 with reference to gene expression of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) by RT-PCR

The present study aims to investigate the effects of both garlic and curcumin through evaluating their therapeutic properties as antioxidants on liver and kidney functions, hepatic antioxidants and GPx gene expression against aflatoxicosis of O. niloticus. In total, 180 of tilapia were divided into ten groups; T-1 represented the negative control fed on a basal diet, and T-2 was injected with a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) dose of AFB(1) (6 mg/kg b.w.). Fish in T-3-T-6 were fed on a basal diet supplemented with both garlic (T-3 and T-4) and curcumin (T-5 and T-6) at the two concentrations of 10 and 20 g/kg diet, respectively. Fish in T-7-T-10 groups were injected with AFB(1) and fed on the garlic (T-7 and T-8) and curcumin (T-9 and T-10) dietaries. The results showed that AFB(1) has significant potency for increasing the activity of plasma AST, ALT, creatinine and uric acid values, and hepatic MDA as well as for reducing the concentrations of plasma TP, AL, GL and hepatic activity of TAC, while AFB(1) led to up-regulated GPx gene expression when compared to the control (T-1). These harmful effects of AFB(1) were alleviated due to the garlic and curcumin dietaries in some studied parameters. Garlic reflected the highest induction of gene expression (T-7); however, curcumin showed significant down-regulated (T-9). These results concluded that the effects of garlic were better than curcumin at the two concentrations and the low concentration of them is more beneficial than the high concentration when it used against AFB(1) in O. niloticus.