~ 281 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2018; 7(8): 281-285 ISSN (E): 2277- 7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.03 TPI 2018; 7(8): 281-285 © 2018 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 01-06-2018 Accepted: 03-07-2018 Iqra Nazir Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India Rikhi S Chauhan Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India Correspondence Rikhi S Chauhan Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India Evaluation of dietary utilization of phytobiotics along with vitamin c and chitosan and its impact on growth in fingerlings of Cyprinus carpio haematopterus Iqra Nazir and Rikhi S Chauhan Abstract The present study was carried out to evaluate growth promoting effect of Allium sativum, Curcuma longa, Tinospora cordifolia, Withania somnifera, Vitamin C and chitosan on the fingerlings of Cyprinus carpio haematopterus. The fingerlings weighing 33.0 ± 2 g were distributed randomly into four treatment groups T0, T1, T2 and T3 of 25 fishes each in triplicate. Four Isoproteinous experimental diets were prepared by mixing rice bran, deoiled mustard oil cake, deoiled soybean cake and vitamin-mineral mixture. The phytobiotics, Vitamin C and Chitosan were incorporated into diet as [Diet (D1) with control feed + 2.5 gm of garlic + 2.5 gm of guduchi + 2.5gm of turmeric +2.5 gm of ashwagandha. Diet (D2) with control feed + (2.5 gm of each plant) + 25 mg Vitamin C. Diet (D3) with control feed + (2.5 gm of each plant) + 2.5 gm Chitosan]. T0 group fishes were fed with D0 diet, T1 with D1, T2 with D2, T3 with D3 @ 5% body weight per day for 102 days. The water quality parameters were regularly monitored. Fingerlings fed with diet D3 achieved higher Net weight gain (NWG 17.49 ± 0.2461 g), specific growth rate (SGR 0.197 ± 0.0018 %), gross conversion efficiency (GCE 0.7478 ± 0.0019), better feed conversion ratio (FCR 1.337 ± 0.0057) and protein efficiency ratio (PER 1.158±0.0112) as compared to other treatments. The obtained results indicated that T3 was the best treatment which realized significant (P<0.05) increase in parameters related to growth performance. The results indicate that phytobiotics along with vitamin C and chitosan have very good growth promoting effect and does not have any adverse effect on health of Cyprinus carpio haematopterus in culture system. Keywords: Specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, phytobiotics, Chitosan 1. Introduction Aquaculture is an important industry and it is increasing worldwide every year. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world and it is an important economic activity in many countries. In large-scale production facilities, where aquatic animals are exposed to stressful conditions, problems related to diseases and deterioration of environmental conditions often occur and result in serious economic losses. When aquaculture production becomes more intensive, the incidence of disease including infectious diseases has increased and as a result of it, significant economic losses were incurred. At many fish farms and hatcheries several antibiotics, vaccines and chemotherapeutic agents as well as some Immuno stimulants have been used to prevent viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal diseases. Although antibiotics and chemotherapeutics are used for prophylaxis and treatment in intensive aquaculture, they have been widely criticized for their negative impact (FAO, 2002) [9] . So far, the effects of a number of Immuno stimulants (such as levamisole, lipopolysaccharide, glucans, peptidoglycan and muramyl dipeptide) have been extensively studied in a variety of fish species (Anderson, 1992) [2] . But knowledge on the use of traditional herbal medicines as Immuno stimulants is limited, even though such medicines seem to be a rich source of active substances for immunotherapy (Hadden, 1993) [11] . Herbal plant products have various qualities like growth promoting ability, appetite stimulation, enhance immune system, anti-stress, anti-tumour, anti- parasitic, antimicrobial in aquaculture practices. Application of medicinal herbs in disease management is gaining success, because herbal treatment is cost effective, ecofriendly and has minimal side effects. Nowadays herbs or herbal products also have a significant role in aquaculture. Medicinal herbs promote lipid metabolism that catabolizes body fatty acids as main energy expenditure, resulting in efficient protein accumulation and growth performance. Thus, use of plant product or herb material may help in fish health management in eco-friendly manner (Chakraborty and Chattopadhyay, 1998) [7] and they have been widely used in aquaculture.