Table 1.
Ingredients and proximate composition of the experimental diets (dry basis, %).
| Ingredients (Dry Weight, %) | Dietary Astaxanthin Levels (mg/kg) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 24.2 | 45.8 | 72.4 | 94.2 | 195.0 | |
| Peru fish meal | 30.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 |
| Soybean meal | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 |
| Soybean protein concentrate | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 |
| Poultry by-product meal | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| Yeast extract | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Wheat flour | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 | 22.00 |
| Fish oil | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Soybean lecithin | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Cholesterol | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Vitamin premix 1 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Mineral premix 2 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Ca(H2PO4) 2 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Choline chloride | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| Sodium alginate | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| BHT | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 |
| Cellulose | 0.50 | 0.475 | 0.45 | 0.425 | 0.40 | 0.30 |
| Astaxanthin 3 (10%) | 0.00 | 0.025 | 0.05 | 0.075 | 0.10 | 0.20 |
| Proximate composition (%) | ||||||
| Dry matter | 95.33 | 95.02 | 95.19 | 94.58 | 95.19 | 95.09 |
| Crude protein | 46.05 | 46.25 | 46.35 | 46.28 | 46.45 | 46.64 |
| Crude lipid | 10.05 | 10.42 | 10.37 | 10.32 | 10.72 | 10.30 |
| Ash | 9.73 | 9.75 | 9.85 | 9.62 | 9.80 | 9.91 |
| Astaxanthin (mg/kg) | 0.00 | 24.20 | 45.80 | 72.40 | 94.20 | 195.00 |
1, 2 Vitamin and Mineral premix were prepared from Xie et al. [22]. 3 Purchased from DSM company, Shanghai, China.