Effects of Taurine Supplementation on Growth Performance and Antioxidative Capacity of Chinese Soft‐shelled Turtles, Pelodiscus sinensis, Fed a Diet of Low Fish Meal Content

Abstract

This experiment examined the effects of taurine supplementation on the growth performance and antioxidative capacity of Chinese soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis, fed diets of low fish meal content. The base diet (with 0.31% taurine) consisted of low fish meal level and had an animal : plant protein ratio of 2:1. Six experimental diets were supplemented with various taurine levels (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25%) for 8 wk. There were significant quadratic regression relationships between the taurine supplementation level and specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER). All taruine supplemented groups showed higher SGR and PER and lower FCR than the group fed diet without taurine supplementation. Significant quadratic regressions were also showed between the supplemented taurine level and the total superoxide dismutase activity, malondialdehyde content, and total antioxidant capacity. The results indicate that taurine supplementation in a diet with low fish meal level can improve the growth of turtles. With comprehensive analysis on the effects of taurine supplementation on the growth performance and antioxidative capacity of turtles, the optimal taurine supplementation level was suggested to be 0.9% in the diet with an animal : plant protein ratio of 2:1.

Effects of Dietary Taurine on the Growth, Digestive Enzymes, and Antioxidant Capacity in Juvenile Sea Cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus

“…T‐AOC is used to measure the antioxidant capacity of all antioxidants with both enzymatic and nonenzymatic components (Zang et al ). Oxygen radicals are continuously generated by a variety of cellular processes and all organisms have evolved antioxidant defenses (Hou et al ). This study showed that SOD and T‐AOC values of CLS from sea cucumbers fed diets supplemented with taurine were higher than those fed the basal diet, which was in agreement with taurine‐enhancing SOD and T‐AOC activities in the liver of turtles (Hou et al ).…”

“…Oxygen radicals are continuously generated by a variety of cellular processes and all organisms have evolved antioxidant defenses (Hou et al ). This study showed that SOD and T‐AOC values of CLS from sea cucumbers fed diets supplemented with taurine were higher than those fed the basal diet, which was in agreement with taurine‐enhancing SOD and T‐AOC activities in the liver of turtles (Hou et al ). These results indicate that dietary taurine supplementation could enhance resistance of sea cucumbers to oxidative stress and would probably confer better health of these animals.…”

“…Taurine (2‐aminoethanesulfonic acid) is an amino sulfonic acid, which has been proved to be conditionally essential for some aquatic animals when these animals are fed diets containing high plant protein levels, as taurine is deficient in plant‐based protein sources (El‐Sayed ). In aquatic vertebrates, numerous studies have confirmed that dietary taurine could promote growth of some marine finfish species (Gaylord et al ; Lunger et al ; Takagi et al ; Yun et al ; Jirsa et al ; Wang et al ) and soft‐shelled turtles (Hou et al ) when fishmeal was replaced with plant proteins in the diets. However, studies related to application of taurine in aquatic invertebrates are relatively scarce, and these studies were mostly focused on shrimp.…”

“…Zhou et al () found that 0.2% taurine in a commercial diet (the content of taurine in the commercial diet was 0.245%) had no improving effect on the growth of shrimp, L. vannamei . In addition to its role in growth performance, dietary taurine could improve the hypoxia‐tolerance ability of juvenile grass carp (Yang et al ), increase antioxidative capacity of Chinese soft‐shelled turtles (Hou et al ), and alleviate cadmium‐induced oxidative stress in freshwater catfish (Kumar et al ). Therefore, as a kind of feed additive, taurine has been getting more and more emphasis in research on aquatic animals.…”

First successful head‐start program of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in Thailand and proposed dietary strategy

“…In the current study, carbohydrate digestibility was significantly higher in mashed cassava, corn, wheat flour, and alpha starch, followed by cereal meal and rice flour. The inclusion of alpha starch in turtle diets has been reported by a number of authors (Hou et al, 2013;Nuangsaeng & Boonyaratapalin, 2001;Sun et al, 2016;Zhang et al, 2014;Zhou et al, 2013). The pregelatinization process improves the digestibility of carbohydrate in this raw material.…”