Effects of dietary cholesterol and phospholipid levels on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and tissue fatty acid in the juvenile mud crab Scylla paramamosain Estampador, 1950 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae)

Abstract To investigate whether an interaction between the levels of dietary cholesterol (CHOL) and phospholipid (PL) exists in the growth performance, antioxidant, and immune parameters of juvenile Scylla paramamosainEstampador, 1950, a 3 × 3 factorial feeding trial was conducted in polypropylene tanks with nine diets containing three CHOL levels (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% of dry weight) and three PL levels (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% of dry weight). After the eight-week feeding trial, crabs fed the diets with 0.5% CHOL and 1.0 or 1.5% PL achieved the best growth performance with a relatively higher survival rate. Hemolymph CHOL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) increased with the increasing dietary CHOL levels, whereas decreased LDLC levels were observed as dietary PL levels increased. With the increasing dietary levels of PL, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were markedly enhanced in crabs fed the basal diets with 0.5 or 1.0% CHOL and PL. Tissue fatty acid composition reflected dietary fatty acids. Increasing dietary PL levels resulted in rising contents of total n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the hepatopancreas and muscle. A synergistic effect between CHOL and PL was not observed on growth performance but such effect was found instead in the biochemical indices of hemolymphs and the antioxidant capacity of the hepatopancreas. These results suggest that proper dietary levels of 0.5% CHOL and 1.0–1.5% PL could maintain solid growth performance and antioxidant capacity of juvenile S. paramamosain.