Protective effects of sulphoraphane on oxidative damage caused by ammonia in Litopenaeus vannamei

Abstract

To study the effects of supplemental sulphoraphane (SFN) on oxidative damage caused by ammonia in Litopenaeus vannamei, a feeding trial and an ammonia-N stress trial (20 mg L−1) were performed in succession using a commercial formulation containing four SFN concentrations (0, 10, 30 and 50 mg kg−1). At the end of the feeding trial, the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the control group was the highest. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the muscles in the control group were significantly lower than those of shrimps supplemented with SFN (p < 0.05). The activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in all tissues and the activities of catalase (CAT) in the serum in shrimps supplemented with 30 and 50 mg kg−1 SFN were higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The gene expression of SOD and CAT in shrimps supplemented with 10 and 30 mg kg−1 SFN was significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). After the ammonia-N stress trial, the highest MDA level was observed in the control group. However, the expression of SOD, GPX, CAT and TRX in the control group was higher than those in shrimps supplemented with 30 and 50 mg kg−1 SFN (p < 0.05). Overall, the results indicated that SFN significantly decreases oxidative damage and improves the antioxidant capacity of L. vannamei and has promising application potential in protecting shrimps against environmental stress.