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A study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary oligofructose (1, 2 and 3%) on the blood profiles of beluga (Huso huso) juveniles (18.77 ± 0.76 g) compared to fish fed an un-supplemented diet. After 7 weeks of feeding on the experimental diets, haematological parameters, metabolic products (cholesterol, glucose and total protein) and serum enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) were measured. Compared to the control group (0% oligofructose), dietary oligofructose had no effect on red blood cell counts (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean cellular haemoglobin (MCH) or mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (P > 0.05). However, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, leucocyte (WBC) levels and the proportion of lymphocytes were significantly higher (P > 0.05) in the 2% oligofructose fed fish than in the 3% oligofructose fed fish. Additionally, haematocrit (Hct) values (P = 0.049) and the proportion of lymphocytes (P ≤ 0.01) were significantly higher in the 2% oligofructose group than in the control group. Although serum glucose and total protein remained unaffected, serum cholesterol was significantly lower in the 2% oligofructose group than in the control and 3% oligofructose group (P < 0.05). The results of the present study showed that oligofructose had no significant effects on serum lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase. These results indicate that fish blood profiles could be affected by prebiotics, which should be taken into account in future studies.

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Preliminary experiments were undertaken to investigate the effects of oligofructose on beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) growth performance, survival and culturable autochthonous intestinal microbiota. Juveniles (20 g) were fed diets containing varying levels of oligofructose (10, 20 and 30 g kg )1 ) at 2-3% body weight per day for 7 weeks. Compared to the control group, no significant (P > 0.05) effect on growth performance was observed in fish fed diets supplemented with oligofructose at 10 and 20 g kg )1 . However, compared to the 20 g kg )1 group, feeding oligofructose at 30 g kg )1 resulted in adverse effects on growth performance. Dietary supplementation of oligofructose at 20 g kg )1 significantly increased survival rate. Microbiological assessment indicated that the viable culturable autochthonous levels were not affected by dietary oligofructose. Although lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were not a dominant component of the endogenous autochthonous microbiota, LAB levels were significantly elevated in fish fed 20 g kg )1 dietary oligofructose. This elevated LAB population was able to persist for at least 1 week after reverting the prebiotic group back to a control diet. This study encourages further research on different aspects of oligofructose in sturgeon culture with clear emphasis on optimizing dosage levels. KEY WORDS

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