Abstract
Melatonin is a hormone that can modulate aggressive interactions in fish, stimulate antioxidant enzymes, and neutralize the biological damage caused by high free radical production. Fish, especially those kept in artificial environments, are subject to damage caused by free radicals resulting from stressful conditions, such as a social challenge. The matrinxã (Brycon amazonicus) arouses great commercial interest and has been widely used in farming systems. However, these animals have a high frequency of aggressive behavior and cannibalism, which is considered a limiting factor for the production system. Thus, we evaluated the influence of melatonin on aggressiveness and oxidative stress parameters in matrinxã juveniles, testing whether melatonin increases glutathione concentrations and reduces lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances) during social challenge. For this, 24 fish were subjected to three concentrations of melatonin in water: control (0 μmol/L), low MEL (1 μmol/L), and high MEL (10 μmol/L), with eight replicates each. The fish were isolated for 96 h, subjected to the mirror test (social challenge), and then euthanized and dissected to remove the liver. Melatonin reduced total aggressive interactions in animals treated with melatonin (P = 0.036), increased glutathione concentrations (P = 0.002), and decreased levels of lipid peroxidation (P = 0.001). We concluded that melatonin reduces aggressiveness and acts as a potent antioxidant in matrinxã juveniles, contributing to the reduction in stress levels and thus improving the maintenance conditions of animals in production systems.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Damy Caroline de Melo Souza and Ândrocles Oliveira Borges for helping conduct the experiments and Msc. Yugo Moraes Pastrana for collaborating in the statistical analyses of the data.
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The authors also thank the Amazonas Research Foundation (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas - FAPEAM) for financial support, process no. 015/2014-PAPAC.
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This study was conducted in accordance with the Ethical Principles on Animal Experimentation adopted by the National Council of Animal Experimentation (Conselho Nacional de Experimentação Animal - CONCEA) and approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal Use of the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus, AM, Brazil, protocol no. 019/2015.
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de Amaral, A.P., da Silva, E.C.C. & Carvalho, T.B. Melatonin reduces aggressiveness and improves oxidative status of matrinxã (Brycon amazonicus) subjected to social challenge. Fish Physiol Biochem 46, 1019–1024 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-020-00768-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-020-00768-x