Dietary taurine improves muscle growth and texture characteristics in juvenile turbot (Scophthalmus maximus)

A 70-day feeding trial was conducted to analyze the effects of dietary taurine on the muscle growth and texture characteristics in juvenile turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). For the feeding trial, five experimental diets were formulated. The two control diets were designed as follows: the positive control diet (C + ) with 60 % of dietary fish meal, the negative control diet (C-) with 45 % of dietary fish meal. Based on the C-, 0.4 %, 1.2 % and 2.0 % of dietary taurine were supplemented, respectively, to formulate the other three experimental diets (T1, T2 and T3, respectively). Results showed that, in regard to the muscle fiber frequency distribution, diameter class 20 was significantly higher in all the dietary taurine supplemented groups than that in the two control groups. Muscle fibers density was significantly higher in 1.2 % of dietary taurine supplemented group than that in the other all groups. The muscle in the T2 group had the highest adhesiveness, and that in the T3 group had the highest hardness. The group with 1.2 % of dietary taurine supplementation had the significantly highest values of the total hydroxyproline (0.48 mg/g) and the total collagen (3.84 mg/g) among all the groups. In conclusion, 1.2 % of taurine supplementation in low fish meal (45 %) diet showed the significantly higher hyperplasia fiber growth and textural properties in turbot muscle.