Sustainable nutritional solutions are the focus of modern aquafeed sector. Innovative compounds that support fish growth performance and promote animal health without the use of antibiotics are encouraged in fish farming. Being nutrition one of the fundamental pillars of animal health, adequate fish nutrition elevates animal resistance to the stressful effects that are intrinsic to the farm, besides promoting overall fish health without being detrimental to the environment or leaving residue in fish meat or water pond. Advances in the knowledge of fish nutrition and health led to the development of high-performance, natural bioactive compounds to be used as fish feed additives. EOOA (Jefo Nutrition Inc., Quebec, Canada) is a microencapsulated blend of organic acids and essential oils.
A series of in vitro as well in vivo assays were conducted at MSState, testing the product against the common pathogenic bacteria in catfish, as well as the dietary supplementation of EOOA in channel catfish (Ictaluturus puntatus) diets for 124 days. In this feeding trial, graded levels of EOOA were tested (0, 300, 600 and 1,500 mg/kg), and it was observed benefits in the health parameters, survival, and tolerance against Edwardsiella ictaluri, a common pathogenic bacterium for catfish. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α expression levels were assessd in the posterior section of the intestine, and a significant suppression of TNF-α could be observed for fish fed 1,500 mg of EOOA kg-1 when compared to the control group.
Current and future trials will have a strong focus on the bacterial disease resistance, mimicking the commercial conditions and scale, as well as validating the laboratorial data with customers. The microencapsulation technology improves the delivery efficiency of the natural bioactive compounds in fish gut and benefits farmed fish under commercial conditions.