The dynamic changes in the activity of digestive and antioxidant enzymes of juvenile Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) during a short-term starvation period

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
hamzeh salarvand 1
Amin Oujifard 1 , 2
Vahid Morshedi 2
Ahmad Ghasemi 2
Mentor Sopjani 3
Ghasem Rashidian 4
1 Department of Fisheries Sciences, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Islamic Republic of Iran.
2 Department of Fisheries and Biology, Persian Gulf Research Institute, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Islamic Republic of Iran.
3 Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina, 10 000 Prishtina, Kosova.
4 Institute of Aquaculture and Protection of Waters, South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses, Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia.
Abstract
This study investigated the physiological responses of juvenile Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) to short-term feed deprivation, focusing on changes in digestive and antioxidant enzyme activities. A total of 150 fish (mean initial weight 5.80 ± 0.06 g) were divided into six 300-L circular fiberglass tanks with two groups including a control group (fed) and a starvation group (feed-deprived) for 8 days. Sampling was performed on days 2, 4, 6, and 8 to evaluate the activities of digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase, protease, and alkaline phosphatase) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT], glutathione reductase [GR]) along with malondialdehyde [MDA] content in the liver. The obtained results showed the amylase activity in the starvation group showed a significant decrease on day 8 compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover, alkaline phosphatase activity was reduced on day 4 in the starved group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Lipase and protease activities were not significantly affected by starvation (p> 0.05). Among antioxidant parameters, GR in the starvation group showed significant decrease on day 6 compared to the control group (p < 0.05). However, SOD and CAT activities in the starved group increased significantly on days 6 and 4, respectively compared to the control group (p < 0.05). MDA levels remained consistently lower in starved fish compared to the control fish throughout the experiment (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that short-term starvation induces selective changes in digestive and antioxidant parameters in juvenile Asian seabass, with decreased activities of amylase and alkaline phosphatase and differential modulation of antioxidant responses.
Keywords
Asian seabass
Compensatory growth
Enzymatic changes
Feed deprivation
Physiological responses
Subjects
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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology

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Available Online from 16 September 2026