Effects of dietary cholesterol levels on moulting performance, lipid accumulation, ecdysteroid concentration and immune enzymes activities of juvenile C hinese mitten crab E riocheir sinensis

Effects of dietary cholesterol levels on moulting performance, lipid accumulation, ecdysteroid concentration and immune enzymes activities of juvenile Eriocheir sinensis were investigated. Crabs were fed with feeds contained various cholesterols of 1100, 2100 and 3200 mg kg −1 in both paddy fields and laboratory experiments. In paddy fields trial, the crabs fed with diets contained 3200 mg kg −1 cholesterol achieved higher growth rate than those fed with diets contained no supplemental cholesterol (1100 mg kg −1 ). In laboratory trial, moulting frequencies of crabs fed with diets contained 3200 mg kg −1 cholesterol were higher than those of crabs fed with diets contained no supplemental cholesterol from the 6th to 10th moult. Further laboratory experiment indicated that intermoults of crabs fed with diets contained 3200 mg kg −1 cholesterol significantly shortened compared with crabs fed with the basal feeds (1100 mg kg −1 cholesterol). In the intermoult, total lipid content, ecdysterone concentration and three immune enzymes in crabs were increased with the increment of dietary cholesterol levels between the 7th and the 8th moult in laboratory experiments. Taken together, dietary cholesterol not only enhanced moulting performances of growth, survival and moult frequency, but also enhanced total lipid storage, ecdysterone concentration and three immune enzymes activities in the intermoult period.