Nutritional mitigation of heatwave stress in European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax: Metabolic, cellular, and molecular responses

• Published in: Aquaculture reports 2024-06, Vol.36, p.102168, Article 102168
• Main Authors: Islam, Md Jakiul, Puebla, Oscar, Kunzmann, Andreas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquaculture; Climate change; Fish physiology; Heatwaves; Nutrition; Stress response
• ISSN: 2352-5134; 2352-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aqrep.2024.102168

Climate change is fueling the perilous combination of heatwaves and prolonged drought and is now a reality affecting living organisms, including fish. The study aimed to investigate the effects of four dietary supplements on the European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax, during an experimental heatwave. A total of 240 fish were allocated randomly to 15 tanks. Fish were fed for 56 days with diets supplemented with vitamins C (4.0 g kg-1) & E (3.5 g kg-1), propolis (4.5 g kg-1), phycocyanin (0.03 g kg-1), β-glucan (3.0 g kg-1) and a control diet, and then exposed to a 18 days heatwave (32 oC). Multilayer of physiological parameters were measured before and after extreme warm exposure. Before the experimental heatwave, fish weight gain did not differ significantly between the four tested diets and the control group. However, during extreme warm exposure, serum triglycerides, total protein, cholesterol, and expression of Igf1 and TNF-1α were significantly higher in fish fed diets supplemented with vitamins C & E, propolis, and phycocyanin than in fish fed control diet (p < 0.05). In contrast, serum cortisol, AST, ALT, LDH, ɣGGT, BUN, and creatine levels were found to be significantly lower (P