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The dietary effect of ulvan from Ulva clathrata on hematological-immunological parameters and growth of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

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Abstract

An extract of ulvan obtained from the green alga Ulva clathrata was lyophilized and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The percentage of sulfate groups calculated by elemental quantitative analysis in the lyophilized ulvan was twice (8 %) than that of dry algae (4 %). The dietary effect of ulvan on hematology, immunology, and growth was evaluated in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The fish (25 ± 3 g) were fed a commercial diet (negative control group), and the diet was supplemented with three levels of ulvan (0.1, 0.5, and 1 % kg−1 feed). Additionally, a positive control with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 2 % kg−1 feed) was included. During a trial period of 90 days (60 days of treatment + 30 days of suspended treatment), hematocrit (Ht), hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, total serum protein (TP), albumin (Al), globulin (Gb), and phagocytic activity (Pa) were measured. After 15 days of treatment until the 60th day, the Pa was increased (P < 0.001) in fish with diets containing 0.1, 0.5, and 1 % ulvan. An increase (P < 0.001) in the WBC count was observed at day 30 in fish with diets containing 0.1, 0.5, and 1 % ulvan; which maintained for 15 days in 0.5 and 1 % ulvan after their dietary suspension. There was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in growth performance among fish for any of the diets tested. This is the first report of an increment in the immune response by a dietary supplementation with ulvan from U. clathrata in the Nile tilapia. These results demonstrate the potential activity of ulvan on at least two mechanisms of the immune response in tilapia and the time over which the activity is sustained in the organism after suspension of supplementation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Armando Leon (President and CEO of Aonori Aquafarms Inc. and Algalimentos SA de CV) for supplying Ulva clathrata cultivated in Sinaloa, Mexico; we also thank Rosa Maria Medina Guerrero and Dr. Lilia Catherine Soler-Jimenez for their technical assistance during the sampling. Special thanks to Dr. Oscar Basilio Del Rio-Zaragoza for his advice on the development of experimental work and to Dr. Israel Alfaro-Fuentes, Irma Eugenia Martinez Rodriguez, and Gabriela Aguilar Zarate for their suggestions on performing the chemical analyses and obtaining the extract. The first author wishes to acknowledge the National Council of Science and Technology Mexico (CONACYT) for the MSc scholarship.

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  1. Laboratorio de Parasitología CIAD, A.C. Unidad Mazatlán en Acuicultura y Manejo Ambiental, Av. Sábalo-Cerritos s/n, CP 82100, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico

    Petra del Rocío Quezada-Rodríguez & Emma Josefina Fajer-Ávila

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  1. Petra del Rocío Quezada-Rodríguez
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  2. Emma Josefina Fajer-Ávila
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Correspondence to Emma Josefina Fajer-Ávila.

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del Rocío Quezada-Rodríguez, P., Fajer-Ávila, E.J. The dietary effect of ulvan from Ulva clathrata on hematological-immunological parameters and growth of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). J Appl Phycol 29, 423–431 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-016-0903-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-016-0903-7

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