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Anti-Bacterial and Immunostimulatory Properties of Ulvan-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles for Use in Aquaculture

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Abstract

Alternative prophylactic strategies to limit farm animal infection are needed in order to avoid the use of antibiotics. Anti-bacterial and immunostimulatory properties of bioactive compounds are of great interest in aquaculture. Marine derived polysaccharides, such as chitosan and ulvan, together with nanotechnology, have become the focus of attention in the scientific community due to their wide range of biological properties. In this work, chitosan and ulvan-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (referred as CS-TPP NPs and CS-UL-TPP NPs, respectively), obtained by the ionotropic gelation method, had round shape, and the mean sizes were 137.00 ± 5.44 and 325.50 ± 4.95 nm, respectively. No study about the anti-bacterial activity of both types of NPs against Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida, an important fish pathogen, has been reported so far. Furthermore, the potential immunostimulatory effects of CS-UL-TPP NPs after oral administration in fish have not yet been evaluated. The percentage of bacterial inhibition against P. damselae subsp. piscicida was determined through in vitro assays, and it was significantly higher in CS-UL-TPP NPs than in CS-TPP NPs at concentrations below 0.03 mg mL−1. The effects on the immune system of CS-TPP and CS-UL-TPP NPs were evaluated in Solea senegalensis juveniles at 30 days after oral administration. Lysozyme activity as well as gene expression levels of il1b, il6, hamp1, tf and c3 was significantly higher in CS-UL-TPP NP-treated groups than in the controls, and no significant differences were observed in CS-TPP NP-treated groups. Thus, ulvan extracted from the macroalgae Ulva ohnoi could improve anti-bacterial and immunostimulant properties of CS-TPP NPs thereby making them suitable to be used as vaccine adjuvant or as immunostimulant.

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Data Availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Carmen Balebona (Universidad de Malaga) for donating the strain P. damselae subsp. piscicida Lg41/01 and to Cupimar S.A. for supplying Senegalese sole juveniles. The authors thank Isabel Ponce for the proofreading of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the project PP.FEM.PPA201700.9 co-financed at 75% by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund within the Operational Programme for Spain 2014–2020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFAPA Centro El Toruño, Camino Tiro Pichón S/N, 11500, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain

    Marian Ponce, Eugenia Zuasti, Victoria Anguís & Catalina Fernández-Díaz

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  1. Marian Ponce
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  2. Eugenia Zuasti
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  3. Victoria Anguís
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  4. Catalina Fernández-Díaz
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Contributions

Marian Ponce: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, writing — original draft, and writing — review and editing. Eugenia Zuasti: methodology and investigation. Victoria Anguís: methodology, investigation, and resources. Catalina Fernández Díaz: conceptualization, methodology, writing — review and editing, supervision, and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Marian Ponce.

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Highlights

• CS-TPP and CS-UL-TPP NPs have anti-bacterial activity against P. damselae subsp. piscicida.

• CS-UL-TPP NPs leads to the triggering of the immune response in Solea senegalensis.

• Ulvan could boost both, anti-bacterial and immunostimulant properties of CS-TPP NPs.

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Ponce, M., Zuasti, E., Anguís, V. et al. Anti-Bacterial and Immunostimulatory Properties of Ulvan-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles for Use in Aquaculture. Mar Biotechnol 26, 19–27 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-023-10272-x

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