Materials Science & Engineering C xxx (xxxx) xxx Please cite this article as: Subashni Bhoopathy, Materials Science & Engineering C, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2020.111737 Available online 14 November 2020 0928-4931/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles fortify shrimp feed pellets with enhanced antioxidant activity Subashni Bhoopathy a , Dhinakaraswamy Inbakandan (Inba) a, * , Thirugnanasambandam Rajendran a , Kumar Chandrasekaran a , Ramachandran Kasilingam b , Dharani Gopal c a Centre for Ocean Research (DST-FIST Sponsored Centre), MoES - Earth Science & Technology Cell (Marine Biotechnological Studies), Col. Dr. Jeppiaar Research Park, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600 119, India b Nutrition, Genetics and Biotechnology Division, Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture - Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Chennai 600028, India c Marine Biotechnology Division, Ocean Science and Technology for Islands Group, ESSO-National Institute of Ocean Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, Chennai 600100, India A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles Oxidative stress Shrimp farming Antioxidant Feed pellet Reactive oxygen species ABSTRACT Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) have been recently explored as a potential drug carrier to enhance the bioavailability and aqueous solubility of drugs. Curcumin, an antioxidant with a remarkable antiradical scav- enging activity was encapsulated in CSNPs to revamp its bioavailability. While changes in the optimal farming condition can induce oxidative stress in the animals, curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles (Cur-CSNPs) were amalgamated into shrimp feed pellets to ameliorate its antioxidant content in an attempt to bolster the organisms against oxidative stress. Cur-CSNPs were synthesized in two different concentrations of curcumin as Cur-CSNPs A and B. Characterization of the synthesized Cur-CSNPs revealed asymmetrical nanoparticles with semispherical geometry and a zeta potential ˃50 mV. HPLC studies substantiated encapsulation effciencies of 77.53% and 80.35% for Cur-CSNPs A and B respectively. DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays manifested a signifcant enhancement in the antioxidant property of the Cur-CSNPs fortifed feed pellets. This is the frst study to investigate and demonstrate the ability of Cur-CSNPs to enhance the antioxidant property of aquaculture feed pellets. These fndings substantiate that Cur-CSNPs fortifed feed may be applied to reinforce aquaculture animals against oxidative stress. 1. Introduction Being one of the most globalized and dynamic industries in the world food production, shrimp farming, demands incessant care. The shrimps cultured under farming conditions are subjected to enormous oxidative stress due to various environmental alterations. Environmental stimuli such as changes in the pH and temperature, hypoxia, crowding of same species, dietary toxicants can lead to abnormal oxidative reactions in the aerobic metabolic pathways, which result in oxidative stress [1,2]. The induction of stress, also leads to pathogen pressure, due to the curtail- ment of defense mechanisms, which in some cases results in dramatic crop failures. Oxidative stress is caused due to the exposure or produc- tion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or due to the diminution of anti- oxidant defense system, which results in oxidative damage to nucleic acid, protein and lipid. Such an increase in the ROS production can be primarily induced, due to environmental stress [3]. Curcumin, a polyphenol present in Curcumin longa Linn., is known for its antioxidative and anti-infammatory properties. Curcumin carries out its role as an antioxidant by scavenging the free radicals involved in the peroxidation reaction. The anti-infammatory property of curcumin has been explored to cure infammatory-mediated conditions such as cancer, diabetes and atherosclerosis [4]. However, the benefcial effects of curcumin are limited due to its low aqueous solubility and poor sys- temic bioavailability [5]. This is due to the rapid metabolism of curcu- min in the liver and decreased absorption in the intestine [6]. When 2000 mg/kg of curcumin was administered to rats, a maximum con- centration of 1.35 ± 0.23 μg/mL was detected in the serum [7]. Several studies have been made to improve the bioavailability and Abbreviations: Cur-CSNPs, curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles; CSNPs, chitosan nanoparticles. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: inbakandan@sathyabama.ac.in, inbakandan@gmail.com (D. Inbakandan). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Science & Engineering C journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msec https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2020.111737 Received 22 April 2020; Received in revised form 11 November 2020; Accepted 13 November 2020