Safety evaluation and effects of dietary phlorotannins on the growth, health, and intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei

Zijie Wu; Wenbo Wu; Shouguo Yang; Fen Cheng; Jingyi Lv; Yingjin Shao; Xianming Tang; Erchao Li; Qun Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109569

Safety evaluation and effects of dietary phlorotannins on the growth, health, and intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei

Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2024 Apr 17:109569. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109569. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zijie Wu¹, Wenbo Wu¹, Shouguo Yang², Fen Cheng², Jingyi Lv¹, Yingjin Shao¹, Xianming Tang², Erchao Li³, Qun Zhao⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, College of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, China.
² Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, Hainan 571126, China.
³ School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, College of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan 570228, China. Electronic address: zhaoq@hainanu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38641216
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109569

Abstract

Phlorotannins are phenolic compounds with diverse biological activities, yet their efficacy in aquatic animals currently remains unclear. This investigation scrutinized the influence of phlorotannins on the growth, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbiota in Litopenaeus vannamei, concurrently evaluating the potential adverse effects of phlorotannins on L. vannamei. A base diet without phlorotannins supplementation was used as a control, and 4 groups of diets with different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g kg^-1) of phlorotannins were formulated and fed to juvenile shrimp (0.25 ± 0.01 g) for 60 days followed by a 24-hour challenge with Vibrio parahaemolyticus with triplicate in each group. Compared with the control, dietary 2.0 g kg^-1 phlorotannins significantly improved the growth of the shrimp. The activities of enzymes related to cellular immunity, humoral immunity, and antioxidants, along with a notable upregulation in the expression of related genes, significantly increased. After V. parahaemolyticus challenge, the cumulative survival rates of the shrimp demonstrated a positive correlation with elevated concentrations of phlorotannins. In addition, the abundance of Bacteroidetes and functional genes associated with metabolism increased in phlorotannins supplementation groups. Phlorotannins did not elicit any detrimental effects on the biological macromolecules or histological integrity of the hepatopancreas or intestines. Simultaneously, it led to a significant reduction in malondialdehyde content. All results indicated that phlorotannins at concentrations of 2.0 g kg^-1 can be used as safe feed additives to promote the growth, stimulate the immune response, improve the antioxidant capacity and intestinal health of L. vannamei, and an protect shrimp from damage caused by oxidative stress.

Keywords: Intestinal Microbiota; Litopenaeus vannamei; Phlorotannins; Physiological Health; Safety Evaluation.