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Short‐chain fatty acids as feed supplements for sustainable aquaculture: an updated view
Author(s) -
Hoseinifar Seyed Hossein,
Sun YunZhang,
Caipang Christopher Marlowe
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/are.13239
Subject(s) - aquaculture , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , feed conversion ratio , food science , antimicrobial , feed additive , prebiotic , fish <actinopterygii> , business , fishery , body weight , broiler , endocrinology
Abstract Restriction or ban on antibiotic administration in aquaculture encourages the development of environment‐friendly feed additives as immunostimulants. Short‐chain fatty acids ( SCFA s) and their salts are ‘Generally Regarded as Safe’ and are often used as antimicrobials in the livestock feed industry. Formate, acetate, propionate, butyrate and their salts are among the most studied SCFA s in aquaculture. These SCFA s affect the host performance as well as physiological response upon three ways: either through effects of the feeds that are being administered, through effects on the gastrointestinal tract of the animal or through direct effects on metabolism. To date, most of the available data are focused on the effects of SCFA s on growth performance and feed utilization. Despite extensive research studies on the effects of the different type of SCFA s and their salts on growth performance and feed utilization, the effects of these feed additives on the health of aquatic organisms have only been receiving attention recently. The results of the studies demonstrated beneficial effects of SCFA s as promising feed additives in aquaculture. The present review article summarizes and discusses the topic of dietary administration of SCFA s and their salts in aquaculture with a closer look at the recent findings regarding the effects of SCFA s on growth performance and health status of fish and shellfish. Furthermore, this review identifies the gaps of existing knowledge regarding the roles of SCFA s in the growth and health status of aquatic animals and suggests research areas that merit further investigations.