Effects of dietary dandelion extracts on growth performance, body composition, plasma biochemical parameters, immune responses and disease resistance of juvenile golden pompano Trachinotus ovatus

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary dandelion extracts (DE) supplementation on growth performance, feed utilization, body composition, plasma biochemical indices, immune responses, hepatic antioxidant abilities, and resistance to the pathogen Vibrio harveyi in Trachinotus ovatus. A basal diet supplemented with DE at 0, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 4.00 and 10.00 g kg−1 were fed to golden pompano for 8 weeks. The study indicated that dietary supplementation with DE could significantly improve final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency ratio (FER), feed intake (FI), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and protein deposit rate (PDR) (P < 0.05). The highest FBW, WGR, SGR, FI and PDR were observed in fish fed 1.00 g kg−1 dietary DE (P < 0.05). The highest FER and PER were recorded at 0.50 g kg−1 dietary DE (P < 0.05). Condition factor, viscerosomatic index, hepatosomatic index and survival were not significantly different among all groups. Fish fed 1.00 g kg−1 dietary DE showed significant increase in plasma total protein, complement 4 content and alkaline phosphatase, lysozyme, glutathione reductase (GSR) activity, but significant decrease in triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and aspartate aminotransferase activities compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Hepatic antioxidant enzymes (SOD, T-AOC, CAT, GSH-Px, GSR) significantly increased whereas MDA content significantly decreased in fish fed 1.00 g kg−1 DE supplement (P < 0.05). After challenge with Vibrio harveyi, significant higher post-challenge survival was observed in fish fed DE supplement (P < 0.05). These results indicated that golden pompano fed a diet supplemented with DE (especially at 1.00 g kg−1 of fed supplement) could significantly promote its growth performance, feed utilization, body protein deposit, immune ability, hepatic and plasma antioxidative enzyme activities and improve its resistance to infection by Vibrio harveyi.