Effects of fish meal replacement with Chlorella meal on growth performance,pigmentation, and liver health of largemouth bass(Micropterus salmoides)

Chlorella meal is a potential protein source for aquafeeds. However, the physiological response of carnivorous fish fed Chlorella meal remains elusive. This study evaluated the effects of replacing dietary fish meal with Chlorella meal on growth performance, pigmentation, and liver health in largemouth bass.Five diets were formulated to replace dietary fish meal of 0%(C0, control), 25%(C25), 50%(C50), 75%(C75), and 100%(C100) with Chlorella meal, respectively. Total 300 fish(17.6 ± 0.03 g) were ...     

Evaluation of the suitability of a partially defatted black soldier fly(Hermetia illucens L.) larvae meal as ingredient for rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum) diets

Background: Two trials were performed to evaluate a partially defatted Hermetia illucens(HI) larvae meal as potential feed ingredient in rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum) diets. In the first trial, 360 trout(178.9 ± 9.8 g of mean initial body weight) were randomly divided into three experimental groups(4 tanks/treatment, 30 fish/tank). The fish were fed for 78 days with isonitrogenous, isolipidic and isoenergetic diets containing increasing levels of HI, on as fed basis: 0%(HI0, control diet), 25%(HI25) and 50%(HI50) of fish meal substitution, corresponding to dietary inclusion levels of 0, 20% and 40%. In the second trial, 36 trout(4 tanks/treatment, 3 fish/tank) were used to evaluate the in vivo apparent digestibility coefficients(ADC) of the same diets used in the first trial.Results: Survival, growth performance, condition factor, somatic indexes, and dorsal fillet physical quality parameters were not affected by diet. The highest dietary inclusion of HI larvae meal increased dry matter and ether extract contents of trout dorsal fillet. The use of HI larvae meal induced a decrease of valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA) even if differences were only reported at the highest level of HI inclusion. The insect meal worsened the lipids health indexes of the same muscle. Dietary inclusion of insect meal did not alter the villus height of the fish. No differences were found among treatments in relation to ADC of ether extract and gross energy, while ADC of dry matter and crude protein were higher in HI25 if compared to HI50.Conclusions: The obtained results showed that a partially defatted HI larvae meal can be used as feed ingredient in trout diets up to 40% of inclusion level without impacting survival, growth performance, condition factor, somatic indexes, dorsal fillet physical quality parameters, and intestinal morphology of the fish. However, further investigations on specific feeding strategies and diet formulations are needed to limit the observed negative effects of the insect meal on the FA composition of dorsal muscle.     

A plant-based diet supplemented with Hermetia illucens alone or in combination with poultry by-product meal: one step closer to sustainable aquafeeds for European seabassOA

Background: Increasing demand for high-value fish species and pressure on forage fish is challenging aquaculture to ensure sustainable growth by replacing protein sources in aquafeeds with plant and terrestrial animal proteins,without compromising the economic value and quality of the final fish product. In the present study, the effects of a plant protein-based diet(CV), two plant-based diets in which graded amounts of plan protein mixtures were replaced with Hermetia illucens meal alone(VH10) ...     

Xylanase improves the intestinal barrier function of Nile tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus) fed with soybean(Glycine max) mealOA

Background Soybean(Glycine max) meal is one of the important protein sources for fish, but the non-starch polysaccharides(NSP) in soybean meal impair the intestinal barrier function. Here we aimed to investigate whether xylanase can alleviate the adverse effects on the gut barrier induced by soybean meal in Nile tilapia and to explore the possible mechanism.Results Nile tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus)(4.09 ± 0.02 g) were fed with two diets including SM(soybean meal) and SMC(soybean meal + 3,000 U...     

Net energy of corn,soybean meal and rapeseed meal in growing pigs

Background: Two experiments were conducted to estimate the net energy(NE) of corn, soybean meal, expel er-pressed rapeseed meal(EP-RSM) and solvent-extracted rapeseed meal(SE-RSM) using indirect calorimetry and to validate the NE of these four ingredients using pig growth performance.Methods: In Exp.1, 24 barrows(initial BW = 36.4 ± 1.6 kg) were allotted to 1 of 4 diets which included a corn basal diet,a corn-soybean meal basal diet and two rapeseed meal diets containing 20% EP-RSM(9.5% ether extract) or SE-RSM(1.1% ether extract) substituted for corn and soybean meal. The design allowed the calculation of NE values of corn,soybean meal and rapeseed meals according to the difference method. In Exp.2, 175 growing pigs(initial BW = 36.0± 5.2 kg) were fed 1 of 5 diets for 28 d, with five pigs per pen and seven replications(pens) per treatment in order to validate the measured energy values. Diets were a corn-soybean meal diet and four diets including 10% or 20% EP-RSM and 10% or 20% SE-RSM.Results: The NE of corn, soybean meal, EP-RSM and SE-RSM were 12.46, 11.34, 11.71 and 8.83 MJ/kg DM, respectively. The NE to ME ratio of corn(78%) was similar to tabular values, however, the NE to ME ratios of soybean meal(70%) and rapeseed meal(76%) were greater than tabular values. The greater NE value in EP-RSM than in SE-RSM is consistent with its higher EE content. Increasing EP-RSM or SE-RSM did not affect the growth performance of pigs and the caloric efficiency of NE was comparable for al diets.Conclusions: The NE of EP-RSM was similar to soybean meal, and both were greater than SE-RSM. The DE, ME and NE values measured in Exp.1 are confirmed by results of Exp. 2 with comparable caloric efficiencies of DE, ME or NE for all diets.     

Comparative effects of enzymatic soybean,fish meal and milk powder in diets on growth performance,immunological parameters,SCFAs production and gut microbiome of weaned pigletsOA

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the replacement effects of milk powder(MK) and fish meal(FM) by enzymatic soybean(ESB) in diets on growth performance, immunological parameters, SCFAs production and gut microbiome of weaned piglets.Methods: A total of 128 piglets with initial body weight at 6.95 ± 0.46 kg, were randomly assigned into 4 dietary treatments with 8 replicates per treatment and 4 piglets per replicate for a period of 14 d. Piglets were offered isonitrogenous an...     

Studies on HUFA Biosynthesis in a Marine Teleost Siganus Canaliculatus

Marine fish are incapable or have a deft- cient capacity to synthesize highly unsaturated fatty acids （HUFA） from C18 precursors, and thus fish meal and fish oil （FO） are needed in their formulated diets.     

Low-protein diets supplemented with casein hydrolysate favor the microbiota and enhance the mucosal humoral immunity in the colon of pigs

Background: High-protein diets can increase the colonic health risks. A moderate reduction of dietary crude-protein(CP) level can improve the colonic bacterial community and mucosal immunity of pigs. However, greatly reducing the dietary CP level, even supplemented with all amino acids(AAs), detrimentally affects the colonic health, which may be due to the lack of protein-derived peptides. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of supplementation of casein hydrolysate(peptide source) in low-protein(LP) diets, in comparison with AAs supplementation, on the colonic microbiota, microbial metabolites and mucosal immunity in pigs, aiming to determine whether a supplementation of casein hydrolysate can improve colonic health under very LP level. Twenty-one pigs(initial BW 19.90 ± 1.00 kg, 63 ± 1 days of age) were assigned to three groups and fed with control diet(16% CP), LP diets(13% CP) supplemented with free AAs(LPA) or casein hydrolysate(LPC) for 4 weeks.Results: Compared with control diet, LPA and LPC diet decreased the relative abundance of Streptococcus and Escherichia coli, and LPC diet further decreased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria. LPC diet also increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus reuteri. Both LP diets decreased concentrations of ammonia and cadaverine, and LPC diet also reduced concentrations of putrescine, phenol and indole. Moreover, LPC diet increased total short-chain fatty acid concentration. In comparison with control diet, both LP diets decreased protein expressions of Toll-like receptor-4, nuclear factor-κB, interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, and LPC diet further decreased protein expressions of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain protein-1 and interferon-γ. LPC diet also increased protein expressions of G-protein coupled receptor-43,interleukin-4, transforming growth factor-β, immunoglobulin A and mucin-4, which are indicators for mucosal defense activity.Conclusions: The results showed that supplementing casein hydrolysate showed beneficial effects on the colonic microbiota and mucosal immunity and barrier function in comparison with supplementing free AAs in LP diets. These findings may provide new framework for future nutritional interventions for colon health in pigs.     

Effect of micro-algae Schizochytrium sp.supplementation in plant diet on reproduction of female rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss): maternal programming impact of progenyOA

Background: The broodstock diet, and in particular the lipid and fatty acid composition of the diet, is known to play a key role in reproductive efficiency and survival of the progeny in fish. A major problem when replacing both fish meal and fish oil by plant sources is the lack of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA). To address this problem, we studied the effect of the plant-based diet supplemented with Schizochytrium sp...     

Partially defatted black soldier fly larva meal inclusion in piglet diets: effects on the growth performance,nutrient digestibility,blood profile,gut morphology and histological features

Background: The aim of this trial was to investigate the effects of different inclusion levels of a partial y defatted black soldier fly(BSF, Hermetia il ucens L.) larva meal on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile, gut morphology and histological features of piglets. A total of 48 newly weaned piglets were individual y weighed(initial body weight(IBW): 6.1 ± 0.16 kg) and randomly al ocated to 3 dietary treatments(4 boxes as replicates/treatment and 4 animals/box). BSF larva meal was included at increasing levels(0% [BSF0], 5% [BSF5] and 10% [BSF10]) in isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets formulated for two feeding phases: I(from d 1 to d 23) and I(from d 24 to d 61). The weight gain(WG), average daily gain(ADG), average daily feed intake(ADFI) and feed conversion ratio(FCR) were calculated for each feeding phase and for the whole trial. The haematochemical parameters and nutrient digestibility of the piglets were also evaluated. A total of 3 piglets per box were slaughtered on d 61 and the slaughtered piglets were submitted to morphometric investigations and histopathological examinations.Results: No overal significant differences were observed for growth performance(P 0.05), except for the ADFI of phase I, which showed a linear response to increasing BSF meal levels(P 0.05, maximum for the BSF10 group). Dietary BSF meal inclusion did not significantly influence the blood profile, except as far as monocytes and neutrophils are concerned,and these showed a linear and quadratic response, respectively, to increasing BSF meal levels(P 0.05, maximum for the BSF10 and BSF5 groups, respectively). On the other hand, the nutrient digestibility, gut morphology and histological features were not affected by dietary BSF meal inclusion(P 0.05).Conclusions: The obtained results show that a partial y defatted BSF larva meal can be used as a feed ingredient in diets for weaned piglets without negatively affecting their growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile, gut morphology or histological features.     

Recent Advances in Swine Amino Acid Nutrition1

Recent advances in swine protein nutrition are characterized by the development of functional a- mino acids （AA） in regulating fetal and postnatal survival, growth and development. These AA include arginine, glutamine, glutamate, proline, leucine, cyste- ine and tryptophan. Due to limited knowledge on AA nutrition, pork producers have traditionally paid little attention to supplementing the arginine family of AA to swine diets. Results of recent studies indicate that functional AA serve important regulatory functions in nutrient metabolism, protein turnover, and immune function, therefore enhancing efficiency of feed utili- zation by pigs. The underlying mechanisms include activation of nitric oxide, mammalian target of rapam- ycin, gaseous signaling, and AMP-activated protein ki- nase pathways, as well as anti-oxidative function. Di- etary supplementation with arginine, glutamine, pro- line or leucine to weanling piglets enhances theirgrowth performance. Arginine or glutamine is also ef- fective in increasing milk production by lactating sows. Furthermore, supplementing arginine to the diet of pregnant gilts between days 30 and 114 of gestation increases the number of live-born piglets and litter birth-weight. Availability of feed-grade functional AA holds great promise for improving animal health and nutrient utilization in pig production worldwide. Addi- tionally, feedstuffs of animal origin [ e. g. , blood meal （ ring dried ）, feather meal （ hydrolyzed ）, meat and bone meal, porcine protein meal, and poultry by-prod- uct meal （both feed- and petfood-grades） ] are excel- lent and cost-effective sources of both essential and functional AA for formulating balanced swine diets. New knowledge on AA nutrition provides a much needed scientific basis for revising the next edition of swine nutrient requirements.     

Growth performance,fatty acid composition,and lipid metabolism are altered in groupers(Epinephelus coioides)by dietary fish oil replacement with palm oil

In this study,we conducted a 56-d feeding trial to investigate the effects of replacing the fish oil(FO)with palm oil(PO)on the performance,tissue fatty acid(FA)composition,and mRNA levels of genes related to hepatic lipid metabolism in grouper(Epinephelus coioides).Five isolipidic(13%crude lipid)and isonitrogenous(48%CP)diets were formulated by incrementally adding PO to the control diet(25%fish meal and 9%added FO)to replace FO in the control diets.Triplicate groups of 30 groupers(initial weight:12.6±0.1 g)were fed one of the diets twice daily,to apparent satiety.The replacement of FO with 50%PO revealed maximum growth without affecting the performance and whole-body proximate compositions,and replacing FO with 100%PO revealed a comparable(P>0.05)growth with that of the control diet,suggesting PO as a suitable alternative to FO.The analysis of FA profiles in the dorsal muscle and liver though reflected the FA profile of the diet,PO substitutions above 50%could compromise(P<0.05)the FA profile in the liver and flesh of the fish species in comparison with the control diet.Furthermore,the mRNA levels of FAS,G6PD,LPL,PPARА,and D6FAD genes in the liver had positive linear and/or quadratic responses,but the SCD,HSL,ATGL,FABP,SREBP-1C and ELOVL5 had the opposite trend,with increasing dietary PO inclusion levels,whereas the mRNA level of ACC was not affected by dietary treatments.The optimal level of PO substitution for FO was estimated to be 47.1%of the feed,based on the regression analysis of percent weight gains against dietary PO inclusion levels;however,it might affect the FA profile in the liver and flesh of the fish species,and further study is required to investigate whether the changes in tissue FA composition will affect the welfare and market value over a production cycle of grouper.     

Effects of Soybean Meal Replaced by Fermented Plant Protein Compound on Growth,Immune, Antioxidant and Intestinal Microflora Structure of Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus)北大核心CSCD

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of soybean meal replaced by fermented plant protein compound on growth, immune, antioxidant and intestinal microflora structure of black carp (Mylopharyn-godon piceus). The different proportions (1∶1 and 2∶1) of fermented cottonseed meal and fermented rapeseed meal were used to replace 0 (control group), 50% and 75% soybean meal in the basic diet, respectively, 5 kinds of isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets were prepared, and the black carp with initial weight of (6. 04 ± 0. 18) g were fed for 8 weeks. The results showed that there were no significant differences on growth performance, morphological indicators and body composition among all group (P>0.05). There were no significant differences on serum complement 3, malondialdehyde, albumin contents and lysozyme activity among all group (P>0.05). The serum complement 4 content in 50% replacement group was significantly higher than that in other groups (P<0.05), and the serum immunoglobulin M content in 75% replacement group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences on hepatopancreas superoxide dismutase, catalase, alkaline phosphatase activities and total antioxidant capacity and total cholesterol content among all group (P>0.05). There were no significant differences on intestinal α-amylase and lipase activities among all group (P>0.05), and the intestinal pepsin activity in fermented cottonseed meal and fermented rapeseed meal replacing 75% soybean meal with 1 ∶ 1 proportion group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The dominant microflora in intestine of black carp at the phylum level were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria and Planctomycotes, and the dominant bacteria at the genus level were Aeromonas, Cetobacterium, Ralstonia and Plesiomonas. There were no significant differences on the relative abundances of intestinal main microflora among all group (P>0.05). To sum up, under the experimental conditions, the high proportion (75%) of fermented plant protein replacing soybean meal do not cause hepatopancreas damage and intestinal microflora structure change of black carp, and even improve the activities of some immune indicators in serum and intestinal protease activity, and the compound proportion of fermented cottonseed meal and fermented rapeseed meal have no significant effects on growth performance, morphological indicators, body composition, hepatopancreas antioxidant indexes and intestinal microflora structure of black carp. © 2023 Chinese Journal of Urology. All rights reserved.     

The Effects of Mustard Protein Concentrate on Nutrient Digestibility and Performance of Broiler Chickens

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of feeding mustard protein concentrate on nutrient digestibility and the performance of broiler chickens.A total of 180,day-old,male broiler chickens,weighing an average of 52.8 ± 0.6 g,were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments in a randomized block design.The control diet was based on wheat and soybean meal and contained 15% canola meal.The experimental diets contained 3%,6%,9%,12% or 15% mustard protein concentrate added at the expense of canola meal.The digestibility of crude protein and energy declined linearly(P0.01)with increasing levels of mustard protein concentrate.In addition,weight gain and feed intake were linearly(P0.01)reduced as the level of mustard protein concentrate in the diet increased.Feed conversion was also negatively affected(P0.01)by mustard protein concentrate while mortality did not differ among treatments.The results of the present experiment provide a strong indication that there is a factor or factors present in mustard protein concentrate which negatively affects broiler performance.The process through which the protein in mustard seed is concentrated from mustard meal may concentrate some of the anti-nutritional factors found in mustard.Previous research has reported an increase in the concentration of phenolic compounds in protein isolates from mustard and this may be the cause of the reduction in performance as the level of mustard protein concentrate in the diet increased.Further research should be conducted to test this hypothesis.     

Soybean protein concentrate causes enteritis in juvenile pearl gentian groupers(Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus ♂)

Due to diminishing fish meal (FM) supplies, superb protein (PRO) sources are needed for aquaculture,such as soy-based PRO. However, these can cause enteritis and even intestinal injury in fish when used at high proportions in feed. This research examines the effects of substituting soybean protein concentrate(SPC) for FM on the growth performance and intestinal balance of pearl gentian groupers and investigates the mechanism of SPC-induced enteritis. Experimental fish (n=720) were fed 1 of 3 fol...     

Dose-response effects of in-feed antibiotics on growth performance and nutrient utilization in weaned pigs fed diets supplemented with yeast-based nucleotides

Dietary nucleotides are bioactive compounds with the potential to mitigate weaning-associated challenges in piglets. An experiment was conducted to determine the interaction effect of antimicrobial growth promoters(AGP) and a nucleotide-rich yeast extract(NRYE) on growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility(ATTD) of dry matter(DM), crude protein(CP) and gross energy(GE),and to establish whether NRYE supplementation may completely or partially replace AGP in diets for weaned pigs. In phase 1 and 2, corn, wheat, canola meal and soybean meal based diets, which were formulated to contain 0.0 or 0.1% NRYE with 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100% of the recommended AGP dosage, were fed to 108 twenty-one day old piglets(initial body weight 7.11 ± 0.9 kg; mean ±SD) from d 1 to 14 and15 to 28, respectively. Overall, increasing AGP level in NRYE supplemented diets linearly decreased average daily gain(ADG)(P = 0.002) and gain-to-feed ratio(G:F)(P = 0.007); and quadratically decreased ATTD of DM(P = 0.001), CP(P =0.003) and G:F(P = 0.017) during phase 2. Compared with control and pigs fed NRYE with 100% of recommended AGP dosage, pigs fed 0.1% NRYE without AGP had greater(P 0.05) ADG and G:F in phase 2 and overall. In conclusion, supplementing 0.1% NRYE improved growth performance of pigs but this beneficial effect was reduced by increasing dietary AGP dosage.     

A new single-cell protein from Clostridium autoethanogenum as a functional protein for largemouth bass(Micropterus salmoides)

Clostridium autoethanogenum protein(CAP) is a new single-cell protein source originating from inactivated bacteria. An in vitro digestion experiment and an 8-wk growth experiment were conducted to evaluate the molecular weight distribution of the CAP hydrolysate, and the effects of dietary CAP levels on the growth performance, plasma parameters, hepatic and intestinal health, and the diversity of gutadherent microbiota of largemouth bass(Micropterus salmoides). The fish(initial body weight of47....     

A comparative study on the tolerance of tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus)to high carbohydrate and high lipid diets

A 12-wk trial was conducted to compare the tolerance of tilapia to high carbohydrate and high lipid diets.Three isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets, whose carbohydrate and lipid levels were the following:35.0% and 8%(control), 44.2% and 4%(D1, high carbohydrate), and 25.8% and 12%(D2, high lipid),respectively. Three hundred tilapias(27 ± 0.11 g) were fed the diets for 10 wk(4 replicates per group); 72fish from the D1 group were continually fed the D1(D1D1) and 72 fish from the D2 were continua...     

Influence of starch sources and dietary protein levels on intestinal functionality and intestinal mucosal amino acids catabolism in broiler chickens

Background: There is growing interest in carbohydrate and protein nutrition to enhance the efficiency of animal production. Reduced-crude protein diets depress environmental pollution and feeding cost, but the challenge to their adoption is maintaining digestive function and growth performance of birds. The present study was conducted to evaluate the influence of different dietary starch sources and protein levels on intestinal functionality and mucosal amino acid catabolism.Methods: Six dietary treatments, based on maize and soybean meal, were offered to 360 AA+male chicks from 6 to 35 d post-hatch as a 3 × 2 factorial array. Either waxy rice or amylose was added to a conventional maize-soy diet to provide three sources of starch with different digestion rates and relatively high and low dietary protein levels. Growth performance, parameters of intestinal functionality and concentrations of free amino acid in the portal circulation were determined.Results: In the grower phase, starch source influenced(P 0.02) weight gain as diets containing amylose supported significantly higher weight gains than waxy rice. Significant increase of ileal ATP concentrations and Na+/K+-ATPase activity were found in amylose treatment. Also, amylose decreased BrdU positive cell numbers and down-regulated m RNA expression for CASP-3. GOT activity in the ileum was higher(P 0.01) in birds offered low protein diets and there was a trend(P = 0.057) for waxy rice as a starch source to increase ileal GOT activities. There was a significant influence on the concentration of seventeen amino acids in the portal circulation with tryptophan the one exception. Waxy rice as a starch source generated 13.6% and 22.4% numerically higher concentrations of non-essential amino acids than maize and amylose, respectively.Conclusions: Amino acid catabolism in the gut mucosa is subject to nutritional regulation. Given that amino acids can be spared from catabolism in the gut mucosa by supplementation of amylose, it follows their post-enteral availability would be improved and intestinal energy would be derived more efficiently from glucose.