Effects of ethoxyquin on growth performance,liver health,antioxidant capacity,and intestinal health of Carassius auratus

WEI Chaoqing; ZHANG Fengxiang; ZHANG Yanjie; SONG Zhicheng; SU Zhenxia; XU Jianhe; CHENG Hanliang; MU Hua

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.16.009

Abstract：The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of ethoxyquin(EQ)on the growth performance,liver health,antioxidant capacity,and intestinal health of Carassius auratus.A total of 600 juvenile Carassius auratus with an initial body weight of(22.59±0.27)g were randomly divided into four groups with three replicates per group,and 50 fish per replicate,and fed isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets supplemented with 0(group E0),50(group E50),150(group E150),and 450 mg/kg EQ(group E450).The pre-test period was two weeks,and the formal test period was eight weeks.The results showed that there was no significant difference in the final weight and weight gain rate of Carassius auratus among the treatment groups(P＞0.05).Compared with the group E0,the feed coefficient(FCR)and feeding rate(FI)of the groups E50 and E150 were significantly reduced(P＜0.05),and the protein efficiency(PER)was significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the FCR of the group E450 significantly increased(P＜0.05).The liver tissue morphology of each group of Carassius auratus was normal,with no signs of structural damage or fibrosis.The expression levels of liver fibrosis related genes in each EQ added group were significantly lower than those in the group E0(P＜0.05).Compared with the group E0,the superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity and total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC)in groups E150 and E450 were significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the activity of catalase(CAT)in each EQ addition group was significantly increased(P＜0.05).The villus height(VH)of the group E150 was significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the group E450 was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The villus width(VW)of the groups E50 and E150 was significantly decreased(P＜0.05),while the group E450 was significantly increased(P＜0.05).The expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon-y(IFN-γ)and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)in the group E150 were significantly reduced(P＜0.05),while those in the group E450 were significantly increased(P＜0.05).The expression levels of interleukin-10(IL-10)in the groups E50 and E150 was significantly increased(P＜0.05),while that in the group E450 was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The study indicates that adding an appropriate amount of EQ can improve the feed utilization efficiency of Carassius auratus,enhance antioxidant capacity,and promote intestinal health.However,high doses may have negative effects,and the optimal addition amount of EQ is 150 mg/kg.