Dietary supplements of β-1,3/1,6-glucan derived from baker’s yeast results in enhanced seed production and robustness in larvae of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879)
Abstract
This study explored the effects of β-1,3/1,6-glucan derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell walls on the growth, survival, and physiological responses of post-larvae (PL) of M. rosenbergii. Over a 3-week period, larvae were fed a formulated egg custard diet containing varying amounts of β-glucan. The findings revealed that incorporating β-glucan into the diet had a substantial positive impact. The inclusion of β-glucans significantly enhanced survival (59.14% for the PL fed 0.2% β-glucan versus 46.58% for the control; p < 0.05), promoted growth (13.58 mg wet weight for the PL fed 0.2% β-glucan versus 9.53 mg for the PL fed the control diet; p < 0.05), and accelerated the time to metamorphosis (26.67 days for the PL fed 0.2% β-glucan versus 28.0 days for the PL fed the control diet). As the amount of β-glucan in the diet increased, larval growth performance consistently improved. The group receiving 0.2% β-glucan exhibited the highest performance in terms of wet and dry weight, total length, and mean production of PL. Furthermore, the study assessed the influence of β-glucan supplementation on larval tolerance to hypersaline stress. Although the differences were not statistically significant, the addition of β-glucan resulted in incremental improvements in the ability of larvae to withstand hypersaline conditions. In conclusion, the dietary supplement containing 0.2% β-glucan exhibited the highest performance among the inclusion levels tested. Further investigation is recommended to determine the nutritional and physiological effects of β-glucan supplementation under salinity stress conditions.
