Chlorella vulgaris as unconventional protein source in fish feed: A review

Chlorella vulgaris, a type of green microalgae, offers great potential use in fish feed as an alternate protein source. To be suitable for this purpose, C. vulgaris must be non-toxic to both fish and humans, easy to cultivate, easily digested cell walls, and have significant nutritional value. The biomass of microalgae is widely utilized in aquaculture for feeding, growth enhancement, and immune stimulation. C. vulgaris is a significant species due to its favourable biochemical composition. It is commonly used in aquaculture as one of the primary microalgae. It has been demonstrated that its capacity to enhance nutrition, increase immunity, assist in aquatic bioremediation, lessen stress, encourage resistance to diseases in fish, and even reduce bacterial quorum sensing has been demonstrated. Previous studies have validated that incorporating C. vulgaris into fish diets, at levels ranging from 2.5% to 10% of the total diet, leads to improvements in metabolic rate, gut microbiota, quality of carcass, and growth rate. Based on these findings, we strongly recommend using C. vulgaris as a cost-effective, high-quality alternative protein source in fish feed. By incorporating these microalgae into fish diets, aquaculture producers can maximize their profits while reaping the benefits of their valuable attributes.