Nano-chitosan hydrogel alleviates Candida albicans-induced health alterations in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): antioxidant response, neuro-behaviors, hepato-renal functions, and histopathological investigation

Table 4 Scoring system for evaluation of commonly observed lesions in the liver, kidney, and brain tissues of Nile tilapia experimentally infected with C. albicans and treated with nano chitosan gel (NCG) bath for ten days

Organ	Lesion	Control	NCG	C. albicans	NCG + C. albicans
Liver	degenerated hepatocytes	0 0 0	0 0 0	3 2 2	1 0 1
	necrotic pancreatic epithelium
	inflammatory cells infiltrates
Kidney	degenerated renal tubules	0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0	3 2 2 2	1 0 1 1
	necrotic renal tubules
	congested renal vasculatures
	hypo-cellular glomeruli
Brain	pyknotic neurons	0	0	3	1
Brain	vacuolated neuropil	0	0	3	1

Examined fish = three/group. Number of examined fields (10 random fields/group, 400X). The histopathological scoring was estimated by semiquantitative methods as follows: “0 = no, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe alterations”

ISSN: 1746-6148