Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.2
2.7
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Recent Advances in Nutritional Ingredients for Aquaculture
share announcement

Recent Advances in Nutritional Ingredients for Aquaculture

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1788

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Matteo Zarantoniello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DiSVA), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
Interests: aquaculture; fish nutrition; fish physiology; fish digestive system; alternative aquafeed ingredients; histology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The main goal of aquaculture is to meet the increasing global need for seafood while minimizing its environmental impact. The aquafeed industry represents a significant portion of production costs within the sector and is still facing sustainability challenges. In recent years, several attempts have been conducted to replace no longer sustainable conventional ingredients without compromising the nutritional composition of the feed as well as the welfare and quality of the farmed animals. The integration of alternative ingredients or feed additives in aquafeeds can offer a promising solution towards a sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture.

Research is constantly focusing on optimizing the dietary inclusions of novel ingredients to ensure optimal growth performance, overall health, and nutritional quality of farmed animals. Furthermore, several efforts are aimed at improving feed utilization and palatability to reduce feed waste, as well as innovative raw material processing technologies, making them more economically competitive ingredients in the aquafeed market. Within this context, this Special Issue aims to collect the latest advances in aquaculture nutrition in terms of innovative ingredients and feed additives and their effects on the growth, welfare, and product quality of aquatic farmed animals.

Dr. Matteo Zarantoniello
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aquaculture
  • fish nutrition
  • crustacean nutrition
  • aquafeeds
  • feed additives
  • aquafeeds ingredients
  • fish welfare
  • fillet quality

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 2865 KB  
Article
Taurine Supplementation in Low-Fishmeal of Golden Pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) Diets: Improving Intestinal Health and Alleviation of Inflammatory Response
by Zhanzhan Wang, Hongkai Ye, Zhong Huang, Jun Wang, Yun Wang, Wei Yu, Heizhao Lin, Zhenhua Ma and Chuanpeng Zhou
Animals 2025, 15(21), 3080; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15213080 - 23 Oct 2025
Viewed by 155
Abstract
This research explored the effects of supplementing taurine in a low-fishmeal diet on the growth, hepatic antioxidant capacity, muscle quality, intestinal health, and alleviation of inflammatory response of golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus). Over an eight-week period, 300 juvenile fish (initial weight [...] Read more.
This research explored the effects of supplementing taurine in a low-fishmeal diet on the growth, hepatic antioxidant capacity, muscle quality, intestinal health, and alleviation of inflammatory response of golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus). Over an eight-week period, 300 juvenile fish (initial weight 9.4 ± 0.47 g) were randomly allocated into 12 net enclosures (1.0 × 1.0 × 1.5 m), with each treatment group comprising three replicate cages containing 25 specimens. The results demonstrated that an optimal taurine inclusion level of 1.0–1.5% significantly promoted growth, as evidenced by the increased weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR). It also protected hepatic health by reducing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity and enhancing antioxidant capacity. Activation of the hepatic Nrf2/Keap-1/HO-1 signaling pathway increased the level of antioxidant gene expression, including catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). In addition, the appropriate supplementation of taurine significantly down-regulated muscle hardness-related genes (cathepsin B (CatB) and cathepsin L (CatL)) and promoted the growth and differentiation of myoblasts, thus improving muscle quality. The chymotrypsin of fish fed the A25T10 diet was significantly higher than those in other groups (p < 0.05). The amylase (AMY) of fish fed the A25T15 diet was significantly higher than those in other groups (p < 0.05). The Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson of fish fed the A25T15 diet were significantly higher than those in other groups (p < 0.05). Proteobacteria were the most abundant in group A25T10. The relative abundance of Photobacterium rose in the A25RT10 group. In this study, taurine supplementation can down-regulate the expression of intestinal pro-inflammatory factors (interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8)) and up-regulate the expression of anti-inflammatory factor interleukin-10 (IL-10), enhance intestinal immunity, and improve intestinal digestion and absorption. Therefore, the addition of 1–1.5% taurine to low-fishmeal feeds can improve the growth performance of golden pompano. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Nutritional Ingredients for Aquaculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 4367 KB  
Article
Effects of Dietary Protease Levels on Growth Performance, Feeding Regulation, Glucose and Lipid Metabolism, and Endogenous Protease Secretion in Chinese Perch (Siniperca chuatsi)
by Shizhen Liu, Yi Yi, Qingda Tian, Jianmei Su and Liwei Liu
Animals 2025, 15(19), 2809; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15192809 - 26 Sep 2025
Viewed by 373
Abstract
300 healthy Chinese perch (Siniperca chuatsi) (34.35 ± 0.47 g) were randomly divided into five groups (P1–P5) fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 g/kg protease for 8 weeks. Compared to P1, protease supplementation significantly up-regulated endogenous pepsinogen [...] Read more.
300 healthy Chinese perch (Siniperca chuatsi) (34.35 ± 0.47 g) were randomly divided into five groups (P1–P5) fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 g/kg protease for 8 weeks. Compared to P1, protease supplementation significantly up-regulated endogenous pepsinogen genes (pga1 and pgc) and down-regulated the muscle deamination gene ampd. In comparison to P1, the expression level of the hepatic gene ast increased in P2, P3, and P5, while gdh elevated in P2 and P3 (p < 0.05). Compared to P1, the expression of feeding-related gene npy decreased while pomc increased in P2; agrp increased in P3; and pomc and cart decreased in P5, resulting in significant increases in feed intake in P2, P3, and P5 (p < 0.05). Glycolytic genes (gk and pk) and lipid metabolism gene pparα were up-regulated in P2, P3 and P5, while hsl increased in P3 but decreased in P5 (p < 0.05). P5 exhibited significantly improved weight gain rate, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and protein retention rate, alongside reduced feed conversion ratio compared with P1. Therefore, dietary 1.6 g/kg protease significantly enhances growth, improves feed efficiency, stimulates pepsinogen secretion, and modulates deamination, glycolytic, and lipid metabolism genes in Siniperca chuatsi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Nutritional Ingredients for Aquaculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 7114 KB  
Article
Synthetic Feed Attractants in European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Culture: Effects on Growth, Health, and Appetite Stimulation
by Federico Conti, Matteo Zarantoniello, Nico Cattaneo, Matteo Antonucci, Elena Antonia Belfiore and Ike Olivotto
Animals 2025, 15(14), 2060; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15142060 - 12 Jul 2025
Viewed by 988
Abstract
Synthetic flavors from standardized processes have recently emerged as a promising and sustainable alternative to traditional feed attractants. In this study, two attractive (F25, cheese; F35, caramel) and one repulsive (F32-, coconut) synthetic flavors were individually added (1% w/w) to [...] Read more.
Synthetic flavors from standardized processes have recently emerged as a promising and sustainable alternative to traditional feed attractants. In this study, two attractive (F25, cheese; F35, caramel) and one repulsive (F32-, coconut) synthetic flavors were individually added (1% w/w) to a commercial diet for European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and tested over a 90-day feeding trial (30 fish per tank, in triplicate; initial weight 72.48 ± 8.04 g) to assess their impact on fish growth performance, welfare, and the modulation of brain appetite and monoaminergic pathways. None of the tested flavors negatively affected overall fish health. The F35 flavor enhanced feed intake (90.1 ± 5.6%) and growth (SGR 2.2 ± 0.2%) and positively influenced appetite-related and monoaminergic signals, thus being more effective than the F25 one (80.4 ± 3.2 and 1.6 ± 0.1%, respectively). A weekly feeding rotation between F35 and F25 (ROT group) resulted in suboptimal outcomes compared to F35 administration alone. The F32- flavor was not clearly perceived as strongly aversive by seabass and did not impair zootechnical performance. These findings highlight the potential of attractive synthetic flavors to improve diet palatability in a carnivorous species of commercial value, offering novel insights for more sustainable and cost-effective aquaculture feeding strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Nutritional Ingredients for Aquaculture)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop