IPB Student Utilizes Leaves Extracts of Nutmeg to Hibernate Fish

Consumption of seafood has increased over the last decade, without a concomitant increase in reported illness. This increased consumption trend is expected to continue both for prepared and for fresh or frozen varieties. One of the popular fishery products of Indonesia is the common carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio). The long distance transportation of fish from the origin they are caught or harvested, up to the fishes are delivered to the customers, can reduce the level of freshness and safety of food products. Transportation is known to cause stress to fish and leads to a number of physiological responses such as the release of catecholamines and corticosteroids as well as increased glucose levels in blood, and cause of death.

So far the fish transportations are carried out using the wet transportation system with low survival rate of fish. In the wet transportation system used water transportation media that can be at risk of high mortality of fish. For that required handling to maintain the quality of fish to stay awake, one of them with a dry transport system. The method for transporting live fish according to the present system comprises the steps of hibernating the live fish to bring the fish into a dormant state, and transporting the live fish in the dormant state.  

Dry transport system is able to suppress the death rate of fish and keep the condition of fish so as not to stress when transported. Fish hibernated are made to make fishes dormant to lower their respiration and metabolism activities. In addition, the transport system also allows the distribution of fish in a longer period of time, especially for export purposes.

The dry transportation system requires fish anesthesia (imotilization) which will cause the occurrence basal condition fish metabolism. Fishing anesthesia can use chemical anesthesia, but residual effect of the leaves is harmful to fish as well as for humans and the environment.

So this was the reason why Bella Aprilia, Student of the Department of Aquatic Product Technology, of the Faculty of Fishery and Marine Sciences, of Bogor Agricultural University (FPIK IPB) to conduct research program on the effectivity of nutmeg leaves crude extract as anesthetic substance to hibernate the transportation of live fishes.

The title of the research is the use of Leaves Extracts of Nutmeg (Myristica fragnans houtt) Leaves as Anesthesia for the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) transportation.  The supervisors of the study were Dr. Ruddy Suwandi and Dr. Agoes M. Jacoeb.

"Nutmeg, or also called Pala in Indonesian, is a spice that grows on an evergreen tree with the scientific classification Myristica fragrans. It is a native spice of Banda Islands in Indonesia and now is globally used. Nutmeg contains essential oil is a myristicin substance that can be used as an anesthetic. Myristicin is a phenylpropene, a natural organic compound present in small amounts in the essential oil of nutmeg. Myristicin is hallucinogenic so it can be used for hibernate fish, to make fishes dormant to lower their respiration and metabolism activities in the process of transporting live fishes," said Bella.

In her research Bella uses extract concentration of 2%, 3%, and 4%. The results showed that the survival rate of carp using anesthesia treatment of nutmeg leaf was higher than control. The result showed that the blood glucose level of carp fish treated with nutmeg anesthesia was lower than control.

The best extract concentration was 3% with unconscious time was 2 minutes 32 seconds, and conscious time was 3 minutes 46 seconds. The best result without simulation was obtained by the temperature 17 ºC with a survival rate of 100% up to 120 minutes..

"It is expected that the study will important information on the utilization of  nutmeg leaves for natural anesthetic techniques, and can be applied to fish transportation", he concluded. (Wied)