Peppermint is a popular herbal medicine due to its several pharmaceutical applications. In this study, peppermint powder was used as a feed additive to evaluate growth performance, hematological parameters, protein profile of skin mucus, and immune parameters, as well as growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), and 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) gene expression in Caspian roach (Rutilus caspicus). The fingerlings (average weight of 2.40 ± 0.12 g) were fed with diet containing 0 (control), 2, 3, and 4 g/kg peppermint for 8 weeks. The addition of peppermint significantly enhanced the growth parameters and decreased the food conversion ratio. Hematological indices of fish fed with peppermint-supplemented diets were significantly different from the control group (P < 0.05). Soluble protein, alkaline phosphatase, and lysozyme enzyme activity in mucus samples showed an incremental trend by increasing the peppermint levels in the diet. Evaluation of mucosal immunity indicated a remarkable difference between the protein profile in treatments fed with peppermint-supplemented diets and the control group. A new protein band (approximately 27 kDa) was also found in the skin mucus of fish fed with the diet containing 4 g/kg peppermint, and the highest band density was observed in this treatment. The highest IGF and GH gene expression were observed in 4 g/kg peppermint treatment. There was a significant difference in HSP70 expression between the fish fed with peppermint powder and the control group (P < 0.05). Overall, the results showed that dietary oral administration of peppermint at 4 g/kg of feed can act as a growth promoter and immunostimulant.

薄荷由于其多种药物应用而成为一种流行的草药。在这项研究中，薄荷粉被用作饲料添加剂以评估生长性能，血液学参数，皮肤粘液的蛋白质谱和免疫参数，以及生长激素（GH），胰岛素样生长因子（IGF）和70 kDa热休克蛋白（HSP70）基因在里海（（Rutilus caspicus）中的表达。）。给鱼种（平均重量2.40±0.12 g）喂食含0（对照），2、3和4 g / kg薄荷的饲料8周。薄荷的添加显着提高了生长参数并降低了食物转化率。补充薄荷饮食的鱼的血液学指标与对照组相比有显着差异（P <0.05）。粘液样本中的可溶性蛋白质，碱性磷酸酶和溶菌酶的活性通过增加饮食中的薄荷含量而呈增加趋势。对粘膜免疫力的评估表明，补充了薄荷饮食的食物与对照组的蛋白质谱有显着差异。在饲喂含4 g / kg薄荷的日粮的鱼的皮肤粘液中也发现了一个新的蛋白带（约27 kDa），在该处理中观察到了最高的蛋白带密度。在4 g / kg薄荷处理中观察到最高的IGF和GH基因表达。用薄荷粉喂养的鱼与对照组的HSP70表达有显着差异（P <0.05）。总体而言，结果表明，饮食中以4 g / kg的饲料饮食口服薄荷可以充当生长促进剂和免疫刺激剂。