A review on importance of taurine in aquaculture and it effect on fish growth and physiology

Taurine is an amino acid that found at high concentration in fish body, but does not contribute in protein structure. Plant sources have low taurine content and use of these sources in fish diet resulted in increased taurine application in the diet. This compound has many roles in fish including lipid metabolism, cell membrane stability, immune augmentation and improvement in antioxidant status. In this paper, studies on the effects of taurine on fish have been concluded and the result suggests that taurine supplementation is beneficial for fish. Also, recent studies show that excess taurine supplementation deteriorates fish growth and health. In conclusion, effect of taurine on fish is dependent on a variety of conditions and fish species and dietary composition should be considered; because, although taurine supplementation leads to growth promotion, and improvement in lipid metabolism, antioxidant and osmotic status, high levels of taurine results in growth depression, immunosuppression, oxidative stress and hepatic injury.