Effects of exogenous taurine on growth performance,immunity,and anti-inflammatory capacity in juvenile Nile tilapia

CHEN Xianquan; LI Yifan; LIAO Bichan; PEI Cailian; LIANG Jialin; WEI Jiaxin; ZHU Yonghao; WEI Mingken

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.08.011

Abstract：This study aimed to investigate the effects of exogenous taurine supplementation on the growth performance,immunity,anti-inflammatory capacity,and intestinal morphology in juvenile Nile tilapia.A total of 240 juvenile Nile tilapia(initial weight:4.81±0.02 g)were randomly divided into four groups with three replicates per group(20 fish per replicate)and fed a basal diet supplemented with 0,0.1%,0.2%,or 0.4%taurine for 9 weeks.The results showed that compared to the control group,the 0.4%taurine group significantly improved final weight,weight gain rate(P<0.05),and reduced feed conversion ratio(P<0.05).Furthermore,the 0.4%taurine supplementation significantly upregulated hepatic hepcidin(Hep)gene expression(P<0.05),while all taurine-supplemented groups exhibited enhanced hepatic lysozyme c(c-LZM)and posterior intestinal c-LZM,immunoglobulin M(IgM),and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)gene expression(P<0.05).Notably,the 0.2%and 0.4%taurine groups significantly suppressed posterior intestinal tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)expression(P<0.05),accompanied by upregulated zonula occludens-1(ZO-1)expression(P<0.05).Morphologically,the 0.4%taurine group showed the highest mid-intestinal villus height(VH)(P<0.05),whereas all taurine groups displayed reduced mid-intestinal lamina propria width(LP)thickness compared to the control(P<0.05).In conclusion,based on growth performance,immune regulation,anti-inflammatory responses,and intestinal structural integrity,the optimal dietary taurine supplementation level for juvenile Nile tilapia is 0.4%.