Effect of mixed protein schedules combined with choline and betaine on the growth performance of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract

Reducing feed cost has been a major issue in fish nutrition. Mixed protein schedules have been proposed as one of the methods successfully tested in many fish species to reduce feed cost. Meanwhile, the effect of dietary choline and betaine supplementation on fish performance was assessed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of mixed protein schedules, combined with choline and betaine, on Nile tilapia performance. This experiment was conducted in a (4 × 3) factorial arrangement of treatments. Four mixed protein schedules were examined, in the presence of choline 0.3% and/or betaine 0.5%. The four mixed protein schedules were achieved by alternating diet (A; 31%CP) and diet (B; 24%CP) as follows: (6 days‐A), (5 days‐A/1 day‐B), (4 days‐A/2 days‐B) and (3 days‐A/3 days‐B). The results indicated that in the presence of betaine 0.5% and choline 0.3%, the optimal mixed protein schedule for tilapia was (3A/3B). Fish fed on the 4A/2B or 3A/3B schedules utilized protein more efficiently than fish fed on the (6A) schedule. Fish fed diets supplemented with betaine (b) only showed the highest energy retention. The lowest feed cost was recorded for fish fed on (3A/3B) in the presence of betaine 0.5% and choline 0.3% in fish diet.

Dietary choline requirement in slight methionine-deficient diet for juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

“…Increased protein efficiency ratio was reported with increasing choline in Nile tilapia (El‐Husseiny et al . ), kuruma shrimp (Michael et al . ; Michael & Koshio ) and shrimp (Michael et al .…”

Effect of dietary betaine levels on growth performance and hepatic intermediary metabolism of GIFT strain of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus reared in freshwater

“…(2002) also reported that addition of 5 g kg −1 betaine to tilapia diet led to a significant increase in feed consumption. El–Husseiny et al. (2008) reported that the addition of betaine to Tilapia diets increased feed consumption.…”

“…Despite the fact that the effect of dietary betaine addition on growth performance and body composition of tilapia has been studied in recent years (Yan & Qiu 1998; Genc et al. 2006), most studies are conducted on the base population for this fish species, such as Oreochromis niloticus (Yan & Qiu 1998; El–Husseiny et al. 2008) and O. aureus (Genc et al.…”

Desempenho e morfologia hepática de juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo alimentados com dietas suplementadas com metionina e colina

“…Atua também, como fator lipotrópico, melhora a síntese de lipoproteínas e o transporte de lipídio-colesterol (Zeisel, 2000;Bender, 2003), e evita o acúmulo de lipídios no fígado (Reece, 2006). A colina é a única fonte de doação de grupos metil prontamente ativa e permite a síntese de compostos chaves no metabolismo proteico e energético, como a metionina, carnitina, fosfatidilcolina e creatina (El-Husseiny et al, 2008). Além disso, a colina é requerida para a síntese de lipoproteínas, responsável pelo transporte de gordura do fígado para outros tecidos, o que impede o acúmulo de lipídios nesse órgão.…”