| Abstract: | This feeding trial was conducted to determine the vitamin E requirement of growing sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka. Six isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets were formulated to contain graded levels of vitamin E (6.7, 81.2, 159.3, 237.8, 314.6, 395.9 mg/kg diet). Each diet was assigned randomly to 30 growing sea cucumber with initial body weight 15.43 g in triplicates for 8 weeks. Survival rate was not affected by dietary vitamin E; meanwhile, both the weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate were presented the trend of increasing first and then kept stable. With the increasing of dietary vitamin E, crude lipid content of body wall was evaluated firstly and dropped afterwards. When dietary vitamin E contents were lower than 159.3 mg/kg, vitamin E contents of body wall were increased by dietary vitamin E levels, but there were no more differences when dietary vitamin E higher than 159.3 mg/kg. There were minor effects on digestive enzymes of intestine by dietary vitamin E. Contents of malondialdehyde were decreased, while the total superoxide dismutase activity was increased first and then decreased with the increasing of dietary vitamin E. Activities of intestinal alkaline phosphatase were increased, and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase were decreased first and then increased with the increasing of dietary vitamin E. In conclusion, analysis by a linear regression equation of WG or vitamin E contents in body wall indicated that the optimum requirement of vitamin E for growing sea cucumber (initial body weight 15.43 g) was 165.2–187.2 mg/kg diet. |
