Dietary astaxanthin augments disease resistance of Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790), against Vibrio alginolyticus infection

This investigation describes the impacts of dietary provisioning with astaxanthin on hemato-biochemistry, non-specific immunity, and disease resistance of the Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer, against the virulent Vibrio alginolyticus; with specific reference to dose-response associations and variations over different post-infection periods (0-, 7-, and 14-day). Triplicate groups of fish weighing 28 g, on average, were fed various diets (C, the control or astaxanthin-free; AXT50, 50 mg astaxanthin kg-1 diet; AXT100, 100 mg astaxanthin kg-1 diet; and AXT150, 150 mg astaxanthin kg-1 diet) for 90 days and subsequently challenged with V. alginolyticus at the end of the feeding period. Experimental infection unveiled that supplemented fish demonstrated significant improvements (P