Effect of Cymbopogon citratus Essential Oil (EO) on Handling Stress in Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Effects of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil (EO) was tested on minimizing handling stress in Macrobrachium rosenbergii through the evaluation of their metabolite responses [glucose, lactate, glycogen, protein, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Malate Dehydrogenase (MDH), Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)]. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of C. citratus extract in the anaesthetization of M. rosenbergii. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three treatments including control, prawn exposed to stress alone (T1) and prawn exposed to stress in the presence of C. citratus EO (T2) were tested. A C. citratus EO at 500 μL L-1 had been determined in a previous study and was selected as the critical dose to be applied as an anesthetic agent. Handling stress was induced into prawns by netting, at 2 min interval for 30 min and their hemolymph were collected to determine the metabolite responses. RESULTS The increase of glucose, lactate and LDH of M. rosenbergii when exposed to handling stress alone (T1) in comparison to T2 (stress with anesthetic C. citratus EO) were identified. Further, a low glycogen level in parallel with low AChE activity was observed which indicates the involvement of secondary metabolites to cope with the energy demand in T1 over T2. CONCLUSION This study indicates the efficiency of C. citratus EO to reduce stress during handling in M. rosenbergii.