ABSTRACT
The present study evaluated the effects of dietary Allium mongolicum Regel polysaccharide (AMRP) on growth, lipopolysaccharide-induced antioxidant responses and immune responses in Channa argus. A basal diet was supplemented with AMRP at 0, 1, 1.5 or 2 g/kg feed for 56 days. After the 56 days feeding period, weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly increased or decreased (P < 0.05) by dietary AMRP, with the highest WG, SGR and the minimum FCR occurring in 1.5 g/kg AMRP group. Furthermore, AMRP supplementation conferred significant protective effects against LPS challenge by preventing alterations in the levels of complements 3 (C3) and complements 4 (C4), lysozyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) while regulating the expression of immune-related genes including heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), SOD, GST, IL-1 and TNF-α. Finally, AMRP supplementation significantly increased serum total protein, albumin and globulin concentrations and reduced mortality after LPS challenge. Taken together, our results suggest that the administration of AMRP could attenuate LPS-induced negative effects in C. argus, with 1.5 g/kg considered a suitable dose.