Dietary pantothenic acid requirement of juvenile golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus)

The juvenile golden pompano (8.80±0.10) g were randomly assigned into six groups with three replicates in each group and 20 fish in a replicate. They had been fed with pantothenic acid mass fractions of 0, 16.4 mg·kg^–1, 20 mg·kg^–1, 26 mg·kg^–1, 33.4 mg·kg^–1 and 37 mg·kg^–1 in the cages twice a day for eight weeks. The results show that moderate pantothenic acid in feed had significant effects on the weight gain rate, specific growth rate, content of complement C4 in serum as well as activities of amylase (AMS), creatine kinase (CK) and Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase in intestine (P<0.05). They increased first and then decreased with increase of dietary pantothenic acid. In muscle, the protein content in 33.4 mg·kg^–1 group was significantly higher than that in the free-pantothenic acid group and 16.4 mg·kg^–1 group. The pantothenic acid level in the feed significantly affected the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), lysozyme (LZM) in the serum and activity of γ-GT in the intestine (P<0.05). They increased first and then was stable. The quadratic regression analysis on the weight gain rate indicates that the recommended optimum dietary pantothenic acid level for optimal growth of juvenile golden pompano was 21.03 mg·kg^–1.