Effects of alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) on growth performance and non-specific immunity of juvenile red drum fed diets with low or adequate phosphorus levels

This study evaluated the effects of alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) on the growth performance, body, and skeletal composition, as well as non-specific immunity of juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) fed adequate or low-phosphorus diets. A 2 x 2 factorial design was arranged with two levels of total phosphorus (1.0 or 1.6%) and two levels (0 or 1%) of AKG. Each diet was fed to red drum in four replicate 110-L aquaria (15 fish/aquarium) twice daily for 7 weeks. The results indicated that the low-P diets significantly (P < 0.05) decreased weight gain, feed efficiency, and condition factor of red drum, but increased moisture content and decreased ash content of whole body, as well as decreased ash content of skeletal tissue and decreased plasma lysozyme. Supplementation of AKG significantly improved the fillet yield and plasma lysozyme and tended to improve neutrophil oxidative radical production (P = 0.097). Based on these results, phosphorus level had the greatest effect on growth performance and non-specific immunity of red drum, while AKG supplementation had limited positive effects on immunological responses and fillet yield of juvenile red drum.