Protective effects of seaweed supplementation in European sea bass diets

Researchers of CIIMAR (Centro Interdisciplinar De Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Portugal), ALGAPLUS Lda (Ílhavo, Portugal) and IATS Nutrigenomics group have reported the positive effects of 5% dietary supplementation of an aqueous extract of the seaweed Gracilaria sp on sea bass antioxidant capacity and resistance against a bacterial infection.

The study revealed that fish fed the Gracilaria extract showed a delay in mortality after infection with Photobacterium damselae. This beneficial effect was supported by plasma biochemical analysis, liver enzymatic assays and tissue gene expression data that pointed out an up-regulation of immune and antioxidant related pathways in fish fed the dietary supplement.

This work was partially funded by the IMPROV-SEABASS Transnational Access of AQUAEXCEL²⁰²⁰ project at IATS-CSIC facilities.

This study has been published in the Open Access journal Scientific Reports.