Effects of Tannic Acid Supplementation of a High-Carbohydrate Diet on the Growth, Serum Biochemical Parameters, Antioxidant Capacity, Digestive Enzyme Activity, and Liver and Intestinal Health of Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides

Abstract

We investigated the effects of dietary tannic acid (TA) supplementation of a high-carbohydrate diet on growth, feed utilization, whole-body proximate composition, serum biochemical indicators, antioxidant capacity, digestive enzyme activity, and liver and intestinal health of juvenile largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (initial mean weight: 8.08 ± 0.08 g). Five diets were prepared, including a positive control (dietary carbohydrate level, 16%, LC0), a negative control (dietary carbohydrate level, 21%, HC0), and three TA-supplementation diets based on the negative control diet with TA addition at 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg, respectively. After 8 weeks of feeding, the results showed that compared with the LC0 diet, 400–800 mg/kg dietary TA significantly improved the survival rate of largemouth bass ($P<0.05$) while significantly reducing its weight-gain rate and specific growth rate ($P<0.05$). Compared with the HC0 diet, 400 mg/kg dietary TA significantly increased serum catalase activity ($P<0.05$), and significantly decreased serum malondialdehyde, liver glycogen, lightness (L${\hspace{0.17em}}^{\ast }$), and yellowness (b${\hspace{0.17em}}^{\ast }$) ($P<0.05$). Moreover, compared with the HC0 diet, 200–400 mg/kg dietary TA effectively improved the vacuolation of hepatocytes caused by the high-carbohydrate diet and reduced the occurrence of intestinal epithelial cell vacuolation and necrosis. In turn, 800 mg/kg dietary TA significantly inhibited protease activity in the pyloric caecum and intestine ($P<0.05$). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with TA inhibited protease activity, which resulted in decreased growth performance in largemouth bass. However, it was also found that 200–400 mg/kg TA enhanced the antioxidant capacity of largemouth bass in the case of the high-carbohydrate diet, reduced liver glycogen levels, and improved liver and intestinal health. Finally, it should be noted that, when the dietary TA level exceeded 800 mg/kg, TA appeared to play a pro-oxidation role in the liver, which may cause oxidative stress in the liver.