The effects of dietary supplementation synthetic Astaxanthin on body astaxanthin, survival, growth of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

The effect of dietary astaxanthin was evaluated for survival, growth parameters and astaxanthin accumulation of postlarval Litopenaeus vannamei. The experimental diets supplemented at 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg astaxanthin kg-1 and was performed with 8 day-old postlarval shrimp (mean initial wet weight 5.3±1.6 mg) for 30 days. Shrimp fed with a diet without astaxanthin pigment served as control. Shrimp fed diets containing 50, 100 and 200 mg astaxanthin kg-1, survival and growth was significantly higher than the control group. The pigment accumulation rate was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The analysis of pigment accumulation showed that the increasing astaxanthin pigment amount in the diets, survival and resistance to salinity stress test increased in postlarvae. Due to nutritional properties of astaxanthin pigment and the positive effect on growth and survival, the feeding postlarval white leg shrimp with the diet containing at least 100 mg astaxanthin/kg is recommended.