Effect of Garcinia kola seeds supplemented diet on growth performance and gonadal development of Oreochromis niloticus juveniles breed in ponds

Background: Despite the favorable geo-climatic potential of Cameroon, the national production of tilapia remains low due to poor tilapia growth reported by fish farmers. One of the underlying reasons is the early female maturation at a very small size and precocious breeding in earthen ponds, resulting in overpopulation which leads to stunted growth and therefore to the production of unmarketable fish size. Studies have shown that dietary supplementation of G. kola enhanced growth in young Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus. It was also reported that G. kola inhibited spawning in Tilapia adult females. Therefore, this study sought to assess the effects of Garcinia kola as growth promoter and inhibitor of gonadal development in young Oreochromis niloticus. Methods: A total of 108 juveniles weighing 13.32 ± 0.62 g were randomly distributed in 9 hapas of 12 fishes each (9 females and 3 males) and fed for 70 days with three isonitrogenous diets, 40% crude protein with increasing Garcinia kola supplementation levels of 0 (normal diet), 6% and 10% (experimental diets). Physico-chemical parameters of the water (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and transparency) were measured twice a week. Every 14 days, fish were harvested, counted, and weighed. At the end of the experiment, three fish of each sex per replicate were sacrificed and their gonad and liver collected and weighed. Data were statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance repeated measure followed by Newman-Keuls multiple tests. Results: The results showed that all physico-chemical parameters of the water were within the recommended values for Tilapia culture. Tilapia fed 6% Garcinia kola supplemented diet displayed higher final body weight in males (38.60 ± 3.50 g) and females (36.77 ± 3.62 g) compared to those receiving normal diet (36.23 ± 1.36 g and 25.87 ± 3.32 g; respectively to the final body weight in males and females). The gonadosomatic index and hepatosomatic index indicated no significant variation in males while in females, these were significantly low in the experimental fish compared to control fish. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that supplementation of G. kola seeds in diets of young Tilapia improved growth performance and impaired gonadal development in females.