ORIGINAL ARTICLE Improved vitellogenesis, gonad development and egg diameter in catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) supplemented with turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder Cut Dara Dewi 1 | Damiana Rita Ekastuti 1 | Agus Oman Sudrajat 2 | Wasmen Manalu 1 1 Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia 2 Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia Correspondence Wasmen Manalu, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia. Email: wasmenmanalu@ymail.com Abstract An experiment was conducted to study the effect of supplementing catfish (Pan- gasianodon hypophthalmus) with turmeric (Curcuma longa) on the vitellogenic capac- ity of the liver as a new method to improve reproductive performance in oviparous animals. The experimental catfish were assigned to a completely randomized design consisting of four doses of supplemental turmeric (0, 1.2, 2.4 and 4.8 g/kg feed) with 10 catfish with body weights ranging from 2 to 4 kg in each group. Blood sam- ples were collected on days 0, 14, 28, 42 and 56 of turmeric supplementation to measure the concentrations of plasma oestradiol-17ß and vitellogenin. The weights of the body, gonads and liver were measured on days 0, 28 and 56. The fecundities of the catfish were measured on days 28 and 56 of turmeric supplementation, and egg diameters were measured on days 28 and 42. The results showed that catfish supplemented with turmeric at a dose of 2.4 or 4.8 g/kg feed had higher growth rates, higher plasma oestradiol-17b and vitellogenin concentrations, and higher gonad somatic index values and egg diameters. This is the first report demonstrating that the hepatoprotective activity of the curcumin in turmeric could be used to improve both vitellogenin synthesis, which improves nutrient deposition in the ovu- lating eggs, and the reproductive performance of teleost fish and oviparous animals. KEYWORDS curcumin, egg diameter, oestradiol-17b, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, vitellogenin 1 | INTRODUCTION In oviparous animals, the growth and development of an embryo until hatching is determined by the nutrients, materials and gene products that are deposited into the oocyte; in aquatic oviparous animals, embryo development is also influenced by the physiochemi- cal conditions of the water in which the eggs are incubated (Bobe & Labb e, 2010; Brooks, Tyler & Sumpter, 1997). The deposition of nutrients and materials in the developing oocytes affects egg quality, which affects offspring viability and normal development up to the juvenile stage (Kjørsvik, Hoehne-Reitan & Reitan, 2003). The main material deposited in the ovum is vitellogenin, which is mainly produced by the liver and hepatopancreas under the control of oestradiol. Vitellogenin is a complex compound that provides all of the materials required for the development of a complete organ- ism from a zygote (Wang, Tan, Emelyanov, Korzh & Gong, 2005), so its optimum deposition in the developing ovum would improve embryonic and larval development. Therefore, there is a great oppor- tunity to improve the reproductive performance of oviparous animals by optimizing vitellogenin deposition in developing oocytes. In teleost fish and oviparous animals, vitellogenin is mainly pro- duced by the liver under the control of oestrogen, which is produced DOI: 10.1111/are.13494 Aquaculture Research. 2017;1–8. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd | 1