Xie Kai, Liu Xiang, Shi Yong, Cai Minglang, Dai Jihong, Zhang Junzhi, Hu Yi
Fisheries College, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Featured Aquatic Resources Utilization, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
Aquac Nutr. 2025 Apr 4;2025:2233612. doi: 10.1155/anu/2233612. eCollection 2025.
The rising cost of fish meal (FM) in aquaculture feed has prompted the search for alternative protein sources like soybean meal (SBM). However, SBM-based diets can negatively affect fish growth, lipid metabolism, and intestinal health. One possible solution is to add cholesterol to SBM-based feeds to mitigate these adverse effects, but the optimal levels and the resulting benefits remain unclear. In this study, the impact of adding cholesterol to low FM and high soybean protein diets on the growth, lipid metabolism, and intestinal health of was evaluated. Juvenile (initial body weight of 20.00 ± 0.02 g) were fed a control diet with 42% FM + 22% SBM diet (FM group), 22% FM + 52% SBM diet (SBM group), and the SBM diet supplemented with 5 g/kg or 10 g/kg cholesterol (SBC5 and SBC10 groups, respectively). The results showed that the weight gain rate (WGR) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) were significantly lower in the SBM group compared to the FM group, but WGR increased with the addition of 10 g/kg cholesterol. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities increased significantly in the SBM group, indicating liver stress, but returned to normal levels in the SBC10 group. Cholesterol supplementation also improved serum and liver lipid profiles and significantly increased the contents of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in serum and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the liver. In addition, cholesterol supplementation increased the activities of intestinal enzymes (e.g., amylase) and restored the structural integrity of the intestinal lining, including villus height and goblet cell count. Additionally, the SBC10 group exhibited a richer and more diverse intestinal microbiota, with increased abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidota. These findings demonstrate that supplementing 10 g/kg cholesterol in a high SBM diet improves growth performance, lipid metabolism, intestinal health, and gut microbiota composition in . This study provides a practical food-borne strategy to enhance the use of plant-based proteins in aquaculture while mitigating their negative effects, contributing to the sustainability of fish farming.
水产养殖饲料中鱼粉（FM）成本的不断上涨促使人们寻找替代蛋白质来源，如豆粕（SBM）。然而，以豆粕为基础的饲料会对鱼类生长、脂质代谢和肠道健康产生负面影响。一种可能的解决方案是在以豆粕为基础的饲料中添加胆固醇以减轻这些不利影响，但最佳添加量和由此产生的益处仍不明确。在本研究中，评估了在低鱼粉和高大豆蛋白饲料中添加胆固醇对[鱼类名称未给出]生长、脂质代谢和肠道健康的影响。将初始体重为20.00±0.02克的幼鱼[鱼类名称未给出]分为四组，分别投喂含42%鱼粉+22%豆粕的对照饲料（FM组）、22%鱼粉+52%豆粕的饲料（SBM组），以及添加5克/千克或10克/千克胆固醇的豆粕饲料（分别为SBC5组和SBC10组）。结果表明，与FM组相比，SBM组的增重率（WGR）和肝体指数（HSI）显著降低，但添加10克/千克胆固醇后WGR有所增加。SBM组血清丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）和天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）活性显著升高，表明肝脏受到应激，但在SBC10组恢复到正常水平。添加胆固醇还改善了血清和肝脏脂质谱，并显著提高了血清总胆固醇（TC）和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）以及肝脏高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）的含量。此外，添加胆固醇增加了肠道酶（如淀粉酶）的活性，并恢复了肠黏膜的结构完整性，包括绒毛高度和杯状细胞数量。此外，SBC10组的肠道微生物群更丰富多样，厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门的丰度增加。这些发现表明，在高豆粕日粮中添加10克/千克胆固醇可改善[鱼类名称未给出]的生长性能、脂质代谢、肠道健康和肠道微生物群组成。本研究提供了一种切实可行的食源策略，以增加水产养殖中植物性蛋白质的使用，同时减轻其负面影响，有助于鱼类养殖的可持续性。
