ABSTRACT
Dunaliella salina (D. salina) is a well-known microalga that contains considerable amounts of nutritious and medicinal bioactive components. This work studied the modulatory role of D. salina against zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO NPs)-induced neurotoxic effects in adult zebrafish. Fishes were subjected to 0.69 mg L-1 (1/5th 96-h LC50) for 4 weeks; then, fishes were supplemented with D. salina in the diet for 2 weeks at two levels (15 and 30%). Exposure to ZnO NPs induced a significant increase in the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) while accompanied with downregulation of antioxidant genes in the brain of exposed fishes. Brain neurochemistry and enzyme activities were also altered following ZnO NP exposure. ZnO NPs significantly reduced the neurotransmitters and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity while increasing Alzheimer's disease-related proteins and inflammatory response via upregulation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α). Additionally, ZnO NPs increased the indices of brain's DNA oxidative damage, increasing brain tissue's metallothionein (MT) and zinc residues. ZnO NPs upregulated the transcription patterns of apoptosis-related genes (casp3 and p53). D. salina dietary co-supplementation with ZnO NPs alleviated the ZnO NPsZnO NP-induced neuro-oxidative damages by lowering the lipid, DNA damage, and inflammatory biomarkers. Besides, D. salina alleviating responses were linked with increasing the levels of the assessed antioxidants. Conclusively, D. salina dietary supplementation induced potential alleviating effects of the ZnO NP-induced neurotoxicity in adult zebrafish.