Evaluation of the Dietary Arginine Supplementation on Yellow Catfish: From a Low-Temperature Farming Perspective
by
, , ,
Quanquan Cao
1
,
Mohamed S. Kisha
2, 
Alkhateib Gaafar
3,
Abdelgayed Metwaly Younes
3,
Haifeng Liu
1,* and
Jun Jiang
1,*
1
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
2
Hormones Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
3
Hydrobiology Department, National Research Centre, Cairo 999060, Egypt
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biology 2024, 13(11), 881; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13110881
Submission received: 1 September 2024
/
Revised: 22 October 2024
/
Accepted: 25 October 2024
/
Published: 29 October 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Environment, and Fish Physiology)
Simple Summary
The study focused on the effects of dietary arginine (Arg) supplementation on yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) under low-temperature stress (18 °C). Over eight weeks, 720 fish were divided into six groups and fed diets with varying Arg levels. The results showed that Arg supplementation improved growth, feed efficiency, digestive enzyme activity, and antioxidant responses in the fish. It also enhanced the expression of antioxidant-related genes. Based on the findings, the optimal Arg intake for yellow catfish under these conditions is 26.8 g per kg of diet, equivalent to 37.0 g of dietary protein.
Abstract
The yellow catfish is an economically significant freshwater fish with increasing importance in aquaculture. However, the low temperature environments prevalent in certain regions pose challenges to its growth, development, and overall health. This study aimed to explore the impact of dietary arginine (Arg) addition on the growth, digestive capacity, and intestinal antioxidant response in fish under low temperature acclimation (18 °C). Total 720 fish were randomly distributed into six groups, each containing 120 fish. Over the course of eight weeks, each group was fed with diets about varying Arg concentrations (1.79–3.26 g/kg). The results indicated that Arg supplementation resulted in an increase in specific growth rate (SGR), feed intake (FI), feed efficiency (FE), as well as pancreatic enzyme activities in both pancreas and intestine. Conversely, malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PC) contents initially decreased but increased with higher Arg concentrations. Glutathione peroxidase 1a (GPX1a) showed a positive correlation with nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2), showing its role in antioxidative capacity. Furthermore, this study revealed that Arg significantly enhanced the activities of anti-superoxide anion, anti-hydroxyl radical, and anti-oxidative enzymes, along with the relative mRNA abundance of Copper-Zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), catalase, GPX1a, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), and Nrf2 in the intestine. It was determined that yellow catfish weighing between 61.0 g and 89.0 g require an intake of 26.8 g of Arg per kilogram of diet based on polynomial regression analysis of specific growth rate (SGR), which is equivalent to 37.0 g of dietary protein, under sub-low temperature conditions of 18 °C.
