The effect of encapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum with Alginate/Chitosan Nano particles on growth performance and digestive enzyme activities in Asian sea bass (Lates cacalifer)

The application of probiotics in aquaculture has been increased in recent years due to the many benefits for fish health. However, the gut environment, especially pH, limits the establishment of dietary probiotics. Encapsulating of probiotics within biodegradable nanoparticles has been found to increase their viability and efficiency in fish gut. In the current study, the effects of encapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum with alginate/chitosan Nano particles on growth performance and digestive enzyme activities in Asian sea bass (Lates cacalifer) were evaluated. 480 juvenile L. cacalifer were randomly divided into four treatments in triplicates. Fish in T1 received bacteria without any encapsulation, T2 received Lactobacillus plantarum encapsulated with alginate/chitosan, T3 were fed with alginate/chitosan enriched free probiotic diet and T4 received basic diet as a control group. All treatments were fed with experimental diets for 60 days. Fish were sampled on days 30 and 60 and growth indices and digestive enzyme activities were measured. The result revealed that the highest digestive enzyme activities were detected for α-amylase and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and were observed on days 30 and 60 post-treatment in T3 and T1, respectively. However, the best growth performance was achieved on day 60 in T2 group. Apparently, the encapsulation of L. plantarum with alginate/chitosan Nano particles could improve its probiotic efficiency in terms of only the enhancement of growth parameters; however, such an improvement was not detected for digestive enzymes activities.