Abstract
This study investigated the effects of astaxanthin, a carotenoid supplement, on the physiology and coloration of juvenile blood parrotfish cultured in a recirculating aquaculture system. Fish were divided into three groups: a control group fed a basal diet for 84 days, a coloration (ASX) group fed an astaxanthin-enriched diet for 84 days, and a decoloration (ASX-) group initially fed an astaxanthin-enriched diet for 42 days and then switched to a basal diet for another 42 days. The results showed that astaxanthin increased the density of erythrophore cells in the skin of the fish, leading to increased (P < 0.05) redness (a*), yellowness (b*), chroma (Cab*), and hue (H°ab) in the skin and muscle of the ASX group compared to the ASX- and control groups. It also led to increased (P < 0.05) villus height and muscular thickness in the anterior, mid, and posterior intestines, as well as increased production of Kupffer cells in the liver and red pulp in the spleen compared to those fed ASX- and control diets. Additionally, astaxanthin improved the concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the blood plasma and lowered low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the liver. The study concluded that astaxanthin significantly improved the concentration of pigment cells, chromatic parameters, villus height, and muscular thickness in blood parrotfish. The differences observed in the groups were attributed to short-term changes in the group that switched from an astaxanthin-enriched diet to a basal diet.
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Abbreviations
- a*:
-
Redness
- AI:
-
Anterior intestine
- ASX:
-
Coloration diet (0.45 g/kg astaxanthin)
- ASX-:
-
Decoloration diet (0.45 g/kg + 0 g/kg)
- b*:
-
Yellowness
- CA:
-
Central arteriole
- C ab* :
-
Chroma
- ELISA:
-
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
- HDL-C:
-
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- H&E:
-
Hematoxylin and eosin
- HP:
-
Hepatocytes
- KCs:
-
Kupffer cells
- L*:
-
Lightness
- LV:
-
Liver
- LDL-C:
-
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- MI:
-
Mid-intestine
- MS-222:
-
Tricaine methanesulfonate
- MT:
-
Muscular thickness
- ns:
-
Not significant
- OD:
-
Optical density
- PI:
-
Posterior intestine
- RP:
-
Red pulp
- rpm:
-
Revolution per minute
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
- SN:
-
Sinusoids
- SPSS:
-
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
- VH:
-
Villus height
- VW:
-
Villus width
- WP:
-
White pulp
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Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the technical support provided by Mr. **fan Zhou for the intestinal photomicrograph analysis. This work was funded by the Shanghai Sailing Program, China (19YF1419400) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (20ZR1423600).
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This work was funded by the Shanghai Sailing Program, China (19YF1419400), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (20ZR1423600).
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Zai-Zhong Chen, BW, and JZG: funding acquisition, conceptualization, project administration, review and editing, and supervision. ADM: investigation, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, software, and original draft. AY: methodology, analysis, and validation. MMO and SOA: review and editing.
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Micah, A.D., Wen, B., Yusuf, A. et al. Effects of dietary astaxanthin on chromatic, biochemical, and histological characteristics in juvenile blood parrotfish (Vieja melanurus ♀ × Amphilophus citrinellus ♂). Aquacult Int (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-024-01451-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-024-01451-1