Dietary Neem (Azadirachta Indica) Leaf Extract Enhances Growth Performance and Survival Rate of Rohu (Labeo Rohita) Fingerlings

Abstract

A significant source of earning, aquaculture has grown rapidly due to the expansion of the global food production industry. The rising trend in fish farming has increased its importance, particularly in maintaining animal health within the industry. Neem, a medicinal herb recognized for its bioactive constituents Flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins, tannins, alkaloids and sulfurous substances, act as a growth enhancer, and immune modulator against pathogens. This study evaluated the effects of different levels of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf extract (0, 0.1, 0.5, and 1%) incorporated into commercial diets on the growth performance, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and specific growth rate (SGR) of rohu (Labeo rohita) fingerlings reared for eight weeks under controlled laboratory conditions. Neem inclusion significantly (p < 0.05) improved weight gain, total length, fork length, FCR, and SGR in a dose-dependent manner, with the best performance recorded at 1% inclusion. These findings highlight neem leaf extract as a cost-effective, eco-friendly feed additive for sustainable aquaculture. Statistical analysis indicates that the outcomes of current study leads to increase in body weight gain from 0.55±0.21g to 7.38±1.88g, total body length 0.85±0.21cm to 5.95±1.11cm, fork length 0.25±0.13cm to 4.07±0.38cm, feed conversion ratio 7.49±3.26 to 0.53±0.14, specific growth rate 0.94±0.20 to 2.22±0.37 and 100% survival of fish. All these parameters showed highly significant results at T3 treatment as compared to control group.