Antioxidant astaxanthin in composition of sturgeon feeds

Abstract

The article highlights the experience of using astaxanthin in sterlet feeding. Studying the influence of astaxanthin on the morphophysiological state of fish helps develop highly effective recipes of compound feeds for valuable objects of aquacultures. This highly intense antioxidant impacts the work of all systems and overall health, but using astaxanthin in feeding has not reffered to the valuable aquaculture facilities. The influence of astaxanthin on the physiological status of sturgeons has not been studied. It was found that in test No. 2 (adding 40 mg of astaxanthin per 1 kg of feed), the highest absolute growth, average daily growth, average daily growth rate and mass accumulation coefficient (p ˂ 0.001) were observed, in contrast to test No. 1 (adding 20 mg of astaxanthin per 1 kg of feed) and the control. Absolute increase in this sample was for certain 2.3 times higher than in the control one. The average daily growth rate in this variant made 1.8%, which is for certain 2 times higher than in the control group (p ˂ 0.001). The data obtained indicate the positive effect of astaxanthin (40 mg/kg) on the fish–breeding and biological indicators of cultivated fish. The indicators of energy metabolism also prove a better accumulation of plastic substances in the fish of the experimental groups (tests No.1 and No.2): hemoglobin in the variants with adding astaxanthin in the feed made 77.4 and 71.3 g/l, which is 17.6 and 8.4% higher than in the fish of the control group. In the experimental variants compared to the control sample the level of total protein was for certain higher by 17.4 and 22.2% (p < 0.05). Thus, it can be said that the antioxidant astaxanthin provided more favorable trophic and biochemical conditions necessary for the normal growth and development of fish.