Comparison of biosynthetic astaxanthin with other sources: effects on growth, pigmentation, and environmental stress resistance in Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei
摘要
This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of biosynthetic astaxanthin derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and astaxanthin from other sources on growth, body color, immunity, and environmental stress tolerance of Litopenaeus vannamei. Juvenile shrimp (1.08 ± 0.19 g) were divided into four groups: the Ctrl group was fed the basic diet, while the other three experimental groups were supplemented with 50 mg/kg of astaxanthin from S. cerevisiae (SC), chemically synthesized astaxanthin (DSM), or astaxanthin from the red yeast Phaffia rhodozyma (PR) for 42 days. The study then subjected the shrimp to heat, low salinity, and hypoxia stress conditions. Results showed that only the SC group significantly improved WGR and SGR compared to the Ctrl group. The SC group is similar to the DSM group in improving body color and superior to the PR group. Both SC and PR groups demonstrated enhanced expression levels of MnSOD, CAT, LZM, and Toll genes compared to the Ctrl and DSM groups. Notably, under environmental stress conditions, including heat, low salinity, and hypoxia stress, the SC group maintained higher survival rates and showed significantly enhanced expression of GSH-PX, CAT, LGBP, ACP, HSP70, and HIF-1α genes. These results indicated that biosynthetic astaxanthin from S. cerevisiae enhances growth, body color, immune, and antioxidant capacity of shrimp. Moreover, it can also better mitigate oxidative stress by regulating the expression of immunity and stress-related genes and demonstrated superior stress resistance compared to other astaxanthin sources, especially under hypoxic conditions. These findings suggest that biosynthetic astaxanthin from S. cerevisiae represents a promising alternative for coping with environmental fluctuations, extending live transportation duration, and potentially reducing industry reliance on traditional astaxanthin sources.