Research Article: Nutritional evaluation of plant-based diets containing corn and soy protein sources on growth performance and survival rate of Litopenaeus vannamei

The aquaculture industry faces increasing challenges in developing sustainable and cost-effective feeding strategies. Plant-based protein sources, such as soybean meal and corn gluten, present promising alternatives to traditional fishmeal in shrimp diets. This study aimed to investigate the effects of varying levels of plant protein substitution on the growth performance, survival rate, and economic feasibility of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), while also determining the optimal level of plant protein replacement in shrimp feed. Six experimental diets were formulated with plant protein replacement levels of ۰% (T۰), ۲۰% (T۲۰), ۴۰% (T۴۰), ۶۰% (T۶۰), ۸۰% (T۸۰), and ۱۰۰% (T۱۰۰) relative to fishmeal. A ۶۰-day culture period was implemented to evaluate the impact of these dietary treatments on growth indices, survival rates, and nutritional parameters. Additionally, cost analyses were conducted for each treatment group. The results indicated that growth indices, including weight gain and specific growth rate, did not significantly differ from the control group at replacement levels up to ۶۰% (p≤۰.۰۵). However, substituting plant protein at levels of ۸۰% and ۱۰۰% resulted in significant negative effects on growth performance (p≤۰.۰۵). Survival rates remained stable across all dietary treatments throughout the culture period (p>۰.۰۵). The nutritional indices, such as feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio, were significantly higher in the T۰ and T۶۰ groups compared to those with greater plant protein inclusion (p≤۰.۰۵). This study concludes that partial substitution of fishmeal with plant proteins (up to ۶۰%) is both nutritionally effective and economically advantageous. However, complete replacement at ۸۰% and ۱۰۰% levels significantly impairs growth performance in L. vannamei. The consistent survival rates across all dietary treatments suggest that the substitution of the plant-based proteins does not compromise shrimp health.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fishmeal ، Plant protein ، Pacific white shrimp ، Corn ، Soy