article · Beneficial Microbes
Juvenile loach fed diets supplemented with varying levels of chitosan over fifty days exhibited improved growth, altered lipid metabolism, and enhanced immune and antioxidant responses. Weight gain increased in a dose-dependent manner across higher chitosan concentrations. At the same time, chitosan reduced gut lipid content and suppressed the expression of specific lipid-metabolising genes, while shifting fatty acid profiles toward higher polyunsaturated and lower monounsaturated fatty acids. Moderate inclusion at half a percent elevated mucus lysozyme activity, an immune indicator, although higher concentrations reduced this effect. Conversely, the expression of key antioxidant genes, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, peaked at the highest tested level of five percent. Analysis of gut bacteria also revealed a shift, characterised by an increase in Bacteroidetes and a decrease in Firmicutes, confirming broad physiological impacts from dietary chitosan.
Understanding how dietary additives affect farmed fish is vital for improving aquaculture productivity and animal health. Demonstrating that chitosan improves weight gain, alters fatty acid profiles, and bolsters natural antioxidant and immune defences suggests practical dietary strategies to enhance fish growth and welfare while managing lipid accumulation in commercial fish production.
This work points to the use of chitosan as a functional feed additive for aquaculture producers, particularly loach farmers and commercial feed manufacturers. The evidence demonstrates physiological and health benefits across different dosage levels, though the research represents early-stage feed trial testing under experimental conditions. Further validation at commercial scale is required before these formulations can be directly integrated into standard aquaculture feeding programmes.
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This study was performed to evaluate the effects of dietary chitosan supplementation on growth performance, lipid metabolism, gut microbial, antioxidant status and immune responses of juvenile loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus). Five experimental diets were formulated to contain graded levels of chitosan (0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2 and 5% CHI) for 50 days. Results of the present study showed that body weight gain was significantly higher in fish fed chitosan supplemented diets in dose dependent manner than control group. Increasing dietary chitosan levels reduced gut lipid content. Meanwhile the mRNA expression levels of intestine lipoprotein lipase and fatty acid binding protein 2 were significantly reduced with incremental dietary chitosan level. The percentages of total monounsaturated fatty acid decreased, while polyunsaturated fatty acid increased with dietary chitosan. The fish fed 0.5% CHI had higher mucus lysozyme activity (LZM) than those fed 0% CHI, but the LZM activity was significantly decreased with advancing chitosan supplement. The expression levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase revealed a similar trend, where the highest expressions were found in fish fed 5% CHI diet. In the term of intestine microbiota between 0 and 1% CHI groups, the proportion of bacteria in the phylum Bacteroidetes increased, whereas the proportion of bacteria in the phylum Firmicutes decreased as the fish supplemented chitosan. In conclusion, supplementation of chitosan improved growth performance, antioxidant status and immunological responses in loach.
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DOI: 10.3920/bm2016.0177
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