A 6‐month trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary cottonseed meal (CSM) and free gossypol (FG) on allogynogenetic silver crucian carp, Carassius auratus gibelio♀ × Cyprinus carpio♂ with 4 replicates of each treatment. Isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets were formulated with the 0 g kg−1 (control), 200 g kg−1, 400 g kg−1, and 560 g kg−1 CSM. Diets with FG were made by supplementing batches of control diet with 214 mg kg−1, 428 mg kg−1, and 642 mg kg−1. Weight gain, specific growth rate, and protein efficiency ratio increased significantly up to an inclusion level of CSM of 400 g kg−1 in the diet, with a significant decrease in food conversion ratio. Further increase in CSM to 560 g kg−1 did not cause further changes in fish performance. Free gossypol did not affect fish performance significantly at any inclusion level. Neither CSM nor FG caused significant effects in any of the other evaluated parameters such as whole body composition, haemoglobin concentration, activities of serum lysozyme, superoxide dismutase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and histology of hepatic tissues and midgut. Our results suggested that crucian carp can tolerate at least 642 mg kg−1 FG and that it is safe to including 400 g kg−1 CSM in crucian carp feed.

The objective of this study was to evaluate lung protection by the volatile anesthetic sevoflurane (SEVO), which inhibits apoptosis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (250–280 g; n=18) were randomly divided into three groups. The LPS group received 5 mg/kg endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide), which induced acute lung injury (ALI). The control (CTRL) group received normal saline and the SEVO group received sevoflurane (2.5%) for 30 min after ALI was induced by 5 mg/kg LPS. Samples were collected for analysis 12 h after LPS. Lung injury was assessed by pathological observations and tissue wet to dry weight (W/D) ratios. Apoptotic index (AI) was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay and electron microscopy. Caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-3 protein levels were determined by immunocytochemistry and western blotting, respectively. Bcl-xl levels were measured by western blotting and Bcl-2 levels by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. In the LPS group, W/D ratios, AI values, caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-3 levels were significantly higher than in the CTRL group and lung injury was more severe. In the SEVO group, W/D ratios, AI, caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-3 were lower than in the LPS group. Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl expression were higher than in the LPS group and lung injury was attenuated. Sevoflurane inhalation protected the lungs from injury by regulating caspase-3 activation and Bcl-xl and Bcl-2 expression to inhibit excessive cell apoptosis, and such apoptosis might be important in the pathogenesis of LPS-induced ALI.

An 8-week growth trial was conducted with juvenile Chinese mitten crab fed a high fishmeal (FM) diet (PC), a low FM diet (NC) and three other diets (NC125, NC150 and NC175) supplemented with 125, 150 and 175 mg/kg of a dietary protease. In the NC diets, a portion of FM (from PC diet) was replaced by a combination of plant proteins.All diets were isoproteic (404 ± 3 g/kg) and isoenergetic (18.6 ± 0.2 kJ/g). No differences were observed among treatments in most parameters except protein (PRE, %) and lipid (LRE, %) retention efficiencies, where LRE was the highest (37.9%) in NC175 followed by the PC. A linear regression demonstrated significant effects of protease on hepatopancreatic trypsin activity (HPRO, p = .001), and PRE (p = .05) and LRE (p = .014) but not on energy retention efficiency (ERE). Dietary protease level was positively correlated with HPRO and nutrient retention efficiency (p < .05). On the other hand, the specific growth rate (SGR) was positively correlated with portein deposition (PD), lipid deposition (LP) and recovered energy (RE) and negatively correlated with survival (p < .05). This study is first to demonstrate that mainly nutrient retention efficiencies are modulated by specific dietary enzymes in animals. K E Y W O R D Scrab, Eriocheir sinensis, fish meal replacement, nutrient deposition, nutrient retention efficiency, protease