Arginine Supplementation for Juvenile Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) in Practical Plant-Based Diets.
- 1School of Fisheries Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences Auburn University Auburn Alabama USA auburn.edu.
- 2United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Fort Pierce Florida USA usda.gov.
- 3Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Florida Atlantic University Fort Pierce Florida USA fau.edu.
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary arginine (Arg) supplementation on juvenile Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus). Diet formulation was based on the Arg requirement reported for golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus), 2.73% of diet. Eight isonitrogenous (40% crude protein) and isolipidic (8% crude lipid) diets were formulated with varying levels of L-arginine supplementation (0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, 0.5%, and 0.65%), resulting in dietary Arg concentrations ranging from 2.32% to 2.94% of the dry diet (5.66% to 6.95% of dietary protein). Five replicate groups of 12 juvenile pompano at an initial weight of 11.06 ± 0.27 g (mean ± standard deviation) were fed these experimental diets for 12 weeks in a recirculating aquaculture system. Growth performance parameters, including final weight (53.06-59.96 g), percentage weight gain (381%-442%), feed conversion ratio (1.64-1.80), thermal-unit growth coefficient (0.58-0.68), survival (96.67%-100%), and apparent net protein retention (24.48%-26.79%), showed no significant differences among treatments. Whole-body proximate composition, amino acid profiles, and serum biochemical parameters remained unaffected by different dietary Arg levels. Gene expression analysis of hepatic (ppara, igf1, tor, mnsod) and intestinal (ocln, zo1, lyz, il8) target genes similarly revealed no significant treatment effects, indicating that hepatic metabolic regulation, intestinal barrier integrity, and mucosal immune status were maintained at the tested Arg range. Under these conditions, results suggest that the dietary Arg requirement of juvenile Florida pompano is ≤2.32% of diet (≤5.66% of dietary protein), and that conventional animal and plant protein ingredients supply adequate Arg to support growth performance, feed efficiency, and normal physiological function. Thus, Arg supplementation may not be required even in low-animal-protein diets, supporting more cost-effective feed formulation.
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BibTeX
@article{ngo2026arginine,
title = {{Arginine Supplementation for Juvenile Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) in Practical Plant-Based Diets.}},
author = {Trinh H V Ngo and Khanh Q Nguyen and Timothy J Bruce and Nicholas Romano and Marty Riche and D Allen Davis},
journal = {Aquaculture nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1155/anu/1766363},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903461},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Arginine Supplementation for Juvenile Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) in Practical Plant-Based Diets.
AU - Trinh H V Ngo
AU - Khanh Q Nguyen
AU - Timothy J Bruce
AU - Nicholas Romano
AU - Marty Riche
AU - D Allen Davis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Aquaculture nutrition
DO - 10.1155/anu/1766363
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903461
AB - This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary arginine (Arg) supplementation on juvenile Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus). Diet formulation was based on the Arg requirement reported for golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus), 2.73% of diet. Eight isonitrogenous (40% crude protein) and isolipidic (8% crude lipid) diets were formulated with varying levels of L-arginine supplementation (0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, 0.5%, and 0.65%), resulting in dietary Arg concentrations ranging from 2.32% to 2.94% of the dry diet (5.66% to 6.95% of dietary protein). Five replicate groups of 12 juvenile pompano at an initial weight of 11.06 ± 0.27 g (mean ± standard deviation) were fed these experimental diets for 12 weeks in a recirculating aquaculture system. Growth performance parameters, including final weight (53.06-59.96 g), percentage weight gain (381%-442%), feed conversion ratio (1.64-1.80), thermal-unit growth coefficient (0.58-0.68), survival (96.67%-100%), and apparent net protein retention (24.48%-26.79%), showed no significant differences among treatments. Whole-body proximate composition, amino acid profiles, and serum biochemical parameters remained unaffected by different dietary Arg levels. Gene expression analysis of hepatic (ppara, igf1, tor, mnsod) and intestinal (ocln, zo1, lyz, il8) target genes similarly revealed no significant treatment effects, indicating that hepatic metabolic regulation, intestinal barrier integrity, and mucosal immune status were maintained at the tested Arg range. Under these conditions, results suggest that the dietary Arg requirement of juvenile Florida pompano is ≤2.32% of diet (≤5.66% of dietary protein), and that conventional animal and plant protein ingredients supply adequate Arg to support growth performance, feed efficiency, and normal physiological function. Thus, Arg supplementation may not be required even in low-animal-protein diets, supporting more cost-effective feed formulation.
SN - 1353-5773
SN - 1365-2095
ER -