Uun Yanuhar, Heru Suryanto, Herly Evanuarini, Apri Supii, Nezya Pramudya Wardani, Defa Rizqi Machfuda, Lim Leong Seng, Nico Rahman Caesar
The use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) across various industries has raised concerns about their potential toxic effects on aquatic organisms, including hybrid grouper. The study aimed to evaluate the toxicological effects of ZnO-NPs exposure on hybrid grouper (±20g) through the analysis of mortality rate, blood performance, organ histopathology, and changes in immune response. The methods involved exposure of ZnO-NPs in four treatment groups (i.e., 0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm) for 96 hours, followed by analyzing the hematology, histopathology, and TNF-α, IL-1β antibody using flow cytometry. The obtained data were analyzed using ANOVA. The results indicated that ZnO-NPs significantly increased fish mortality up to 50% at 200ppm concentration. Significant changes were recorded in hematology, including a 62.96% reduction in hematocrit and a 20.28% increase in leukocyte count. Histopathological analysis showed severe intestinal tissue damage levels reaching 40.43%. Enhanced immune activity expressing TNF-α and IL-1β antibodies, which increased by 15.08% and 6.81%. The highest accumulation of ZnO-NPs was found in the gill organs, with a concentration of 2.94 ppm. This study highlights the toxic risk of ZnO-NPs to hybrid grouper, emphasizing the need for strict monitoring and the development of safety standards to support safer and more sustainable aquaculture practices. © 2025, Egyptian Society for the Development of Fisheries and Human Health. All rights reserved.
Study Program of Aquatic Resources Management, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Center of Excellence for Cellulose Composite (CECCom), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Indonesia; Animal Science Faculty, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Research Center of Marine and Land Bioindustry, National Research and Inovation Agency of Indonesia, Pemenang, Lombok Utara, Malaka, 83352, Indonesia; Master Program of Aquaculture, Fisheries and Marine Science Faculty, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Higher Institution Center of Excellence (HICoE), Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, 88400, Malaysia
