Eco-friendly fish farming: Cinnamomum cassia as a natural sustainable growth promoter and health enhancer for rohu (Labeo rohita)

Introduction: Driven by the need for sustainable practices, plant sources are increasingly recognized as potential functional additives in aquaculture due to their eco-friendly profile and promising role as natural substitutes for conventional antibiotics and synthetic substances. A 56-day trial was conducted to assess the effects of dietary supplementation of Cinnamomum cassia (C. cassia) on production traits and health profile in juvenile rohu (Labeo rohita). Methods: A completely randomized design was used, consisting of five treatments with three replicates per treatment. A total of 15 fish with an initial average body weight of 3.95 ± 0.28 g were stocked per fiberglass tank of 150-L. Five experimental diets were prepared containing 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% C. cassia. Fish were manually fed on respective diets thrice a day according to the apparent satiation method. At the end of trial, the obtained data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, followed by Tukey’s LSD test using Statistix 9.0 software. Results: The results of statistical analysis showed that the optimal dietary inclusion of C. cassia significantly improved growth performance, feed efficiency, body composition, and overall health status (p < 0.05). Among treatment groups, the group of fish fed diet with 1.5% C. cassia showed better performance. Conclusions: The present finding suggest that the supplementation of the optimal concentration of C. cassia at 1.5% greatly enhances growth and feeding performance and health conditions of rohu in intensive farming. Future studies are suggested to explore its impact on other commercially valuable fish, emphasizing long-term monitoring across all growth stages.