Suitable Cottonseed Protein Concentrate Supplementation in Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Serves as an Effective Strategy for Fish Meal Sparing Based on Improvement in Intestinal Antioxidant Capacity, Barrier and Microbiota Composition

Ze Fan; Kaibo Ge; Di Wu; Liansheng Wang; Jinnan Li; Chenhui Li; Meng Zhou; Haitao Zhang; Linghong Miao; Xianping Ge

doi:10.3390/antiox13040436

Suitable Cottonseed Protein Concentrate Supplementation in Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Serves as an Effective Strategy for Fish Meal Sparing Based on Improvement in Intestinal Antioxidant Capacity, Barrier and Microbiota Composition

Antioxidants (Basel). 2024 Apr 4;13(4):436. doi: 10.3390/antiox13040436.

Authors

Ze Fan¹, Kaibo Ge¹, Di Wu¹, Liansheng Wang¹, Jinnan Li¹, Chenhui Li¹, Meng Zhou², Haitao Zhang³, Linghong Miao⁴, Xianping Ge⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Diseases and Immune Technology of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin 150070, China.
² Innovative Institute of Animal Healthy Breeding, College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Aquatic, Livestock and Poultry Feed Science and Technology in South China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Evergreen Feed Industry Co., Ltd., Zhanjiang 524000, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Fresh Water Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi 214081, China.

Abstract

The application of cottonseed protein concentrate (CPC) is an effective strategy to moderate the shortage of fish meal (FM) for the aquafeed industry. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of replacing fishmeal with CPC on cyprinid fish. This study used common carp (Cyprinus carpio) as the biological model and assessed the potential of applying CPC as a substitute for fishmeal in the diet of common carp. The proportion of fish meal substituted with CPC in the six diets was 0% (CPC0), 25% (CPC25), 50% (CPC50), 75% (CPC75), and 100% (CPC100). Each diet was fed to three replicate groups of common carp (4.17 ± 0.02 g) for 56 days. Results revealed that the CPC50 group significantly increased the growth indexes via up-regulating the genes of the GH/IGF axis and the TOR pathway. The intestinal digestive ability was also elevated in the CPC50 group via markedly increasing intestinal villus height, protease and lipase activities in the whole intestine, and the amylase activity of the foregut and midgut. The CPC50 group captured significantly higher activities and gene expressions of antioxidant enzymes and lower malonaldehyde contents via evoking the Nrf2/Keap1 signal pathway. The CPC50 group enhance the intestinal mechanical barrier via up-regulating the gene expressions of tight junction proteins and heighten the intestinal biological barrier by increasing the probiotics (Lactococcus) and decreasing the harmful bacteria (Enterococcus). But excessive substitution levels (75% and 100%) would compromise growth performance, intestinal antioxidant capacity, and immune function. The optimum substitution level was estimated to be 46.47%, 47.72%, and 46.43% using broken-line regression analyses based on mass gain rate, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion rate. Overall, the fishmeal in common carp feed could be substituted up to 50% by CPC without negative influence on growth, feed utilization, and or intestinal health.

Keywords: common carp (Cyprinus carpio); cottonseed protein concentrate (CPC); fishmeal replacement; intestinal antioxidant capacity; intestinal immune barrier.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA, the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS (No. 2023TD60), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32302969), and the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (LH-2023C056).