Effects of Chitosan Oligosaccharide and Xylo-oligosaccharide on the Growth Performance, Body Composition and Serum Biochemistry of Juvenile Turbots (Scophthalmus maximus)

Abstract:

Here we conducted a 2×3 two-factorial experiment to evaluate the effects of Chitosan oligosaccharide(COS) and Xylo-oligosaccharide(XOS) on the growth, body composition and serum biochemistry of juvenile turbots (Scophthalmus maximus) with initial body weight of (15.46±0.06) g. The feeding trial lasted 8 weeks. Totally 9 diets were formulated to provide graded levels of COS (0, 0.5%, and 1.0%) and XOS (0, 0.5%, and 1.0%). The results showed that the levels of COS and XOS significantly affected the weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion, protein efficiency rate, muscle moisture and crude lipid of juvenile turbots (P<0.05). The addition of COS and XOS at different levels did not generate significant differences in the body composition and the muscle ash content (P>0.05). There were significant interactions between XOS and COS in the growth rate, weight gain, whole fish fat and ash, muscle fat and protein, serum triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lysozyme and alkaline phosphatase (P<0.05). The results above implied that the combination of XOS and COS could significantly improve the growth of juvenile turbots, moderately enhance the non-specific immunity, and facilitate the regulation of the level of the serum lipid. According to our experimental data we recommend that 0.5% COS and 1.0% XOS should be the optimal combination in the diet.