The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different algae in diet on growth, survival, and interleukin-10 productions of sea cucumber. At first, a 9-week feeding trail was conducted to evaluate the growth performance and survival of the sea cucumber fed one of the six experimental diets containing ST (Sargassum thunbergii), UL (Ulva lactuca), UP (Undaria pinnatifida), LJ (Laminaria japonica), SS (Schizochytrium sp.), and NO (Nannochloropsis oculata) in a recirculating aquaculture system. The result showed that survival was not significantly different among the dietary treatments, and the specific growth rate (SGR) of sea cucumber fed the UL diet (1.58% d ) was significantly higher than that of sea cucumber fed the other diets (P < 0.05), except for the LJ and NO diets. Secondly, interleukin (IL)-10 gene expression was determined where mice splenocytes were stimulated with 10 μg ml −1 of sea cucumber extracts for 2 h. The result showed that IL-10 gene expression levels were significantly increased in UL, LJ, and NO diets fed sea cucumber extracts compared to other experimental diets. The results suggest that dietary inclusion with Ulva lactuca, Laminaria japonica, and Nannochloropsis oculata algae may improve the growth of juvenile sea cucumber and could upregulate IL-10 gene expression in mice splenocytes. Such detailed information could be helpful in further development of more appropriate diets for sea cucumber culture.

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Moina macrocopa was cultured with different animal manures (chicken manure, pig manure and cow manure) and food waste to determine the impact of these food sources on its mass production. All diets were provided at five different concentrations: 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 10000 ppm. Gross and net reproductive rates were higher in 1000 ppm concentration of food waste medium and the highest average population growth was obtained of about 9 org mL-1 whereas pig manure treatment showed the lowest among all the culture medium. The highest population density was observed in low concentration treatments, on the contrary, higher concentrations showed an adverse effect on M. macrocopa cultivation. The results of this study suggest that 1000 ppm concentration of food waste produces better results than other animal manures which showed the highest population density and exhibited a comparatively higher percentage of highly unsaturated fatty acids than the other treatments and could be an inexpensive and sustainable cultivation approach of Moina macrocopa.

Introduction: Sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, is becoming popular around the world due to its nutritional and medicinal properties. There are still no detailed chemical studies of the lipid class, glycolipids compositions of sea cucumber. Methods: This study was conducted to determine the lipid class and glycolipid compositions of dried sea cucumber, A. japonicus, and analyze fatty acid compositions of Monogalactosyl Diglycerides (MGDG), Steryl Glycosides (SG) and Sulfoquinovosyl Diglycerides (SQDG). Total lipids of sea cucumber were extracted by Bligh and Dyer method and Sep-Pak Silica plus long cartridge, and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) silica gel G-60 F254 was used for the separation of different lipid classes and glycolipid compositions. The composition of fatty acids was analyzed by GC. Results & Conclusion: The level of total lipids in the dried sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, was 4 ± 1% of dry weight (w/w) and the amount of neutral lipids, glycolipids and phospholipids was 31 ± 1%, 29 ± 1% and 40 ± 1% of the total lipids (w/w), respectively. MGDG, SG and SQDG were the major glycolipids, and the contents were 37.5 ± 0.3%, 33.8 ± 0.5% and 23.6 ± 0.7% of the total glycolipids (w/w), respectively and significantly higher than other glycolipids (p < 0.05). SQDG contained much higher Arachidonic Acid (AA), Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and MGDG contained higher Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) compared with SG (p < 0.05). Further investigation is required to understand the positional distribution of fatty acids and molecular species in MGDG, SG and SQDG in detail.

The effects of diets containing different concentration of Saccharina japonica algae (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%) on growth and Interleukin (IL)-10 gene expression of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus were studied. At first, 08 weeks feeding trail was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of sea cucumbers fed with one of the six experimental diets. Result showed that sea cucumbers fed 15% Saccharina japonica algae diet had higher specific growth rate (SGR) and food conversion efficiency (FCE) than the other experimental diets (P<0.05). Secondly,