Effect of cyclodextrin complexes with chitosan and levofloxacin on the microflora of wounds and the colon of catfish

The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of chitosanβcyclodextrin complexes with immobilized levofloxacin on some microbiological parameters of cut wounds and the large intestine of catfish. The experiment was conducted at the Progressive Biotechnologies in Aquaculture Research Laboratory of the N.I. Vavilov Saratov State University of Genetics, Biotechnology and Engineering. The course of the inflammatory process and the effectiveness of cyclodextrinbased treatments were characterized by determining the total microbial count of cut wounds, as well as the total microbial count and the number of lactic acid bacteria in the large intestine of juvenile African labyrinth catfish – Clarias gariepinus. Five groups of fish with cut wounds of the skin were formed (n = 10): 1st control, in which the fish received a regular balanced feed; 2nd control with a model of digestive disorders and intestinal dysbiosis; experimental groups 1, 2, and 3 received treatment with 20 %, 15, and 10 % levofloxacin, respectively. The fish received this treatment three times daily with their feed for 7 days. Wounds were created by making 2cm incisions in the dorsal muscles near the dorsal fin. The wound surface was washed with sterile cotton swabs. The contents of the large intestine were extracted under sterile conditions after fish necropsy. The total microbial count (TMC) and lactic acid bacteria were determined by serial dilution and colony counting after culture. Chitosanβcyclodextrin complexes with varying levofloxacin concentrations were equally effective in healing catfish incision wounds, as demonstrated by a reduction in the total microbial count on the wound surface compared to untreated groups. The sample containing 20 % levofloxacin demonstrated the greatest inhibitory activity against intestinal microflora at the end of the study, while the proportion of lactic acid bacteria in the TMC in the experimental groups increased at the end of the study compared to the start of treatment with the treatment complexes.