ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Fisheries, Aquaculture and Living Resources
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1678527
This article is part of the Research TopicEcological Safety and One Health in AquacultureView all articles
Assessing the Risks of Dietary Quercetin Supplementation to Red Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus akaara) based on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Capacity, Lipid level, and Intestinal Microbiome
Provisionally accepted
- Zhejiang Mariculture Research Institute, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
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Abstract: Quercetin, as a naturally occurring plant flavonoid, is used in aquaculture feeds to affect fish health. This study evaluated the effects of dietary quercetin supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, lipid level, and gut microbiota in juvenile Epinephelus akaara. Fish were reared in a controlled recirculating aquaculture system and received dietary quercetin for eight weeks at five levels, i.e., 0, 181, 362, 544, and 725 mg/kg. Growth metrics, physiological and biochemical parameters, antioxidant enzyme activities, and intestinal microbial communities were assessed using standard analytical protocols. Quercetin supplementation at 362–544 mg/kg significantly increased the weight gain rate and specific growth rate. It elevated the activities of key antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and reduced the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Supplementation of quercetin at 181–725 mg/kg lowered the level of cholesterol (TC) in liver and muscle, triglyceride in liver. It increased the diversity of the gut microbiota and enriched beneficial taxa such as Cetobacterium, Romboutsia, and Turicibacter that were correlated positively with physiological resilience. Cetobacterium was significant negative correlation with cholesterol (r<-0.6,P<0.01). These findings suggest that quercetin is a promising functional feed additive for enhancing health and aquaculture performance in red-spotted grouper.
Keywords: Quercetin, Epinephelus akaara, aquaculture immunonutrition, Growth, Lipid level, Intestinalmicrobiome
Received: 02 Aug 2025; Accepted: 27 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 HU, Li, Shao, Zhu, Cai, Ma and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: YUAN HU, Zhejiang Mariculture Research Institute, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
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