Effects of different dietary levels of fish protein hydrolysates on growth, digestive enzymes, gut microbiota, and resistance to Vibrio anguillarum in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) larvae.

Two fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) were incorporated into four diets prepared for start-feeding sea bass larvae, at two different levels (10% and 19% of total ingredients): a commercial FPH, CPSP, in which the molecular mass of the main fraction of soluble peptides (51%) was between 500-2500 Da, and an experimental FPH obtained by acidic silage of sardine offal, SH, with a main portion of soluble peptides (54%) ranging from 200 to 500 Da. The diet with 10% of the commercial FPH gave the best results in terms of growth, survival and intestinal development, as evaluated by the early activity of digestive enzymes in the brush border membrane (alkaline phosphatase and aminopeptidase N). This was related to the low level of Vibrio spp. counted in the larvae of group C10. The high dose of FPH, especially in the experimental preparation rich in short peptides, seemed to favour the dominance of Vibrio sp. TYH3, which behaved opportunistically. The effect of the experimental FPH was ambiguous, since early larvae challenged with Vibrio anguillarum were more resistant to the pathogen, especially at high FPH dose (group S19). This might be due either to direct antagonism between V. anguillarum and Vibrio sp. TYH3, or to the stimulation of the immune response in the larvae. These results indicate that different molecular weight fractions and concentrations of feed-soluble peptides may affect the growth performance and immunological status of sea bass larvae. Consequently, a low dose of commercial FPH seems advisable, both for larval development and for the bacterial environment, although further research is required to determine and characterize peptide fractions that may have a beneficial effect on growth and immune response, and to determine their optimal inclusion levels in diets for sea bass larvae.

Dietary phospholipids are more efficient than neutral lipids for long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supply in European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax larval development.

We evaluated the effects of dietary lipid class (phospholipid vs. neutral lipid) and level of n-3 long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) on the growth, digestive enzymatic activity, and histological organization of the intestine and liver in European sea bass larvae. Fish were fed from the onset of exogenous feeding at 7 to 37 d post-hatch with five isoproteic and isolipidic compound diets with different levels of EPA and DHA. Diet names indicated the percentage of EPA and DHA contained in the phospholipids (PL) and neutral lipids (NL), as follows: PL5, PL3, PL1, NL1, and NL3. Histological observations showed different patterns of lipid absorption and accumulation in the intestinal mucosa depending on the level and nature of the dietary lipid fraction. Fish fed high levels of neutral lipids (11%, NL3 diet: 2.6% of EPA + DHA in the NL fraction) showed large intracellular and intercellular lipid deposits in the anterior intestine, but no such lipid accumulation was detected when larvae were fed with low and moderate levels of EPA and DHA in the phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions of the diet (PL and NL1 diets). PL were preferentially absorbed in the postvalvular intestine, and the accumulation of marine PL was inversely correlated to their dietary level. The postvalvular intestinal mucosa and liver showed signs of steatosis; large lipid vacuoles were observed in this region of the intestine and in the liver and were inversely correlated with the level of dietary neutral lipids. The best results in terms of growth, survival, and development (maturation of the digestive system and histological organization of the liver and intestinal mucosa) were obtained in the group fed with 2.3% of EPA and DHA in the PL fraction of the diet (PL3 diet), revealing that European sea bass larvae use the LC-PUFA contained in the PL fraction more efficiently than those from the NL fraction of the diet.