Abstract
Abstract The present study aimed to identify the carotenoid content and evaluate the antioxidant activities of spirulina, Arthrospira platensis (in vitro), and the effect of its supplementation to a vegetarian diet on growth performance, feed utilization, body proximate composition and physiological status of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (in vivo). The carotenoid content of spirulina was identified by UPLC-MS/MS and showed that trans and cis β-carotene were the major carotenoids (88.3%) followed by β-cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin. The antioxidant activity of spirulina was determined in water and crude carotenoid extracts by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay, both extracts showed a significant free radical scavenging capacity. In addition, Nile tilapia fry (0.83 ± 0.01 g) was fed a vegetarian diet supplemented with different levels of spirulina for 12 weeks. The results revealed that the highest growth performance and nutrient utilization were recorded with 0.5% spirulina and the peak response determined at 0.63%-0.65% using polynomial second order regression. Also, the hemoglobin content improved in a quadratic regression model with the peak at 0.67% spirulina. Plasma total protein and lipid contents increased significantly with spirulina levels over 0.50%. Moreover, the aminopeptidase activities and glucose level decreased significantly with increasing spirulina levels. The current study recommended the supplementation of the Nile tilapia vegetarian diet with spirulina at levels of 0.63-0.65% for better growth performance and physiological status.
Highlights
To deal with this dilemma, using of plant-protein based diet, identification of new feedstuffs and diet formula manipulation must be considered as crucial alternatives to maintain the sustainable aquaculture production (Ng and Romano, 2013; Rosas et al, 2019 a)
The present study aims to identify the carotenoid components of spirulina and its antioxidant properties and application as dietary supplementation on growth, feed utilization, whole-body composition and physiological status of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, fry fed plant-based diet
Growth performance Fry fed different levels of spirulina showed a significant increase in growth performance (FW, Weight gain (WG), average daily gain (ADG) and specific growth rate (SGR)) with a 0.5% spirulina kg-1 diet or higher levels compared to the control group (Table 3)
Summary
To deal with this dilemma, using of plant-protein based diet, identification of new feedstuffs and diet formula manipulation must be considered as crucial alternatives to maintain the sustainable aquaculture production (Ng and Romano, 2013; Rosas et al, 2019 a). The use of plant-based protein without supplemental sources of essential nutrients could not achieve the balanced nutritive value and optimize conversion and production (land and water) efficiency (Holman and Malau-Aduli, 2013; Cerqueira et al, 2020). The nutritional profile of spirulina indicated 60–70% protein content in dry matter with wonderful biological value, high-quality fatty acid profile, vitamins, and minerals (Habib et al, 2008; Holman and Malau-Aduli, 2013; Soni et al, 2017), antioxidant phytonutrients, probiotics, and nutraceuticals (Pulz and Gross, 2004; Soni et al, 2017). All of these concentrated nutritious contents known to mankind is protected by a thin cell wall (50 nm) consisting of digestible (86%). The present study aims to identify the carotenoid components of spirulina and its antioxidant properties and application as dietary supplementation on growth, feed utilization, whole-body composition and physiological status of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, fry fed plant-based diet
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