Supplementation of Moina macrocopa with defatted Haematococcus pluvialis meal improved its growth performance and nutritional quality

The defatted Haematococcus pluvialis meal (DHPM) produced during the production of H. pluvialis astaxanthin is treated as a waste by-product. The effects of DHPM, as a possible dietary supplement, on the growth performance, body color, body size and content of total carotenoid and astaxanthin in Moina macrocopa were investigated. The addition of DHPM changed the body color of M. macrocopa from green to deep yellow or red. DHPM not only increased the size of M. macrocopa, but also increased the number of individuals, indicating that DHPM improved growth of M. macrocopa. After feeding on DHPM, the total carotenoid and astaxanthin contents of M. macrocopa were increased (especially the individuals in the 62.5 mg l1 DHPM treated group). Compared with the control group, the total carotenoids and astaxanthin content of M. macrocopa in the 62.5 mg l1 DHPM treated group increased by 1.24 times and 1.54 times respectively, indicating that the nutritional quality of the M. macrocopa was improved. It was concluded that the addition of 62.5 mg l1 DHPM is beneficial for growth of M. macrocopa and enhanced the nutritional quality of M. macrocopa as first feed for aquaculture. DHPM could be a new and low-cost nutritional additive for M. macrocopa enrichment.

Automated summary

The research showed that adding defatted Haematococcus pluvialis meal (DHPM) improved the growth performance, body color, body size, total carotenoid and astaxanthin content of Moina macrocopa.