title: The effects of dietary vitamin C on mucosal immune responses and growth performance in Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) fry.
abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of dietary vitamin C on some skin mucus immune parameters, mucus antimicrobial activity and growth performance of Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) fry. Six hundred sixty Caspian roach (1.4 ± 0.02 g) fry were allocated to 12 tanks (55 fish per tank), and triplicate groups were fed diets containing 0, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 mg kg(-1) vitamin C for 60 days. At the end of the trial, the epidermal mucus protein level, alkaline phosphatase and antimicrobial activity against two gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus faecium and Micrococcus luteus) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens) as well as growth performance were measured. The results demonstrated that feeding on vitamin C significantly elevated skin mucus alkaline phosphatase and protein levels compared to the control group (P < 0.05). However, lysozyme activity was undetectable in both the vitamin C-fed roach fry and the control group. Skin mucus antimicrobial activity was increased following vitamin C administration, and the bacterial growth inhibition zones were significantly elevated in vitamin C-fed roach (P < 0.05). Similar results were obtained in case of the minimum inhibitory concentration of skin mucus. Also fish fed the control diet had a significantly lower weight gain, specific growth rate and condition factor compared to the other treatments (P < 0.05). These results revealed that dietary vitamin C beneficially affects the skin mucus immune parameters and growth performance of Caspian roach fry.
authors: Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran, roosta6787@gmail.com.
authors: Zahra
authors: Z
authors: Roosta
authors: Abdolmajid
authors: A
authors: Hajimoradloo
authors: Rasoul
authors: R
authors: Ghorbani
authors: Seyed Hossein
authors: SH
authors: Hoseinifar
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture / Q000379:methods*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000276:immunology; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004817:Epidermis / Q000276:immunology*; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal / Q000187:drug effects*; D007492:Iran; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D001205:Ascorbic Acid