Effects of different dosages of astaxanthin on giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man) challenged with Lactococcus garvieae

The effects of astaxanthin (AX) injected at 0.67 and 1.34 nmol g−1 BW−1 on the survival, antioxidant capacity, total haemocyte count (THC) and hepatopancreas astaxanthin content of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, challenged with Lactococcus garvieae were evaluated. AX-injected M. rosenbergii at 1.34 nmol g−1 BW−1 had significantly (P≤0.05) higher survival rates. However, AX showed no significant effects on the capacity of certain antioxidant indicators (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase). This implies that L. garvieae infection suppressed the activity of the haemolymph antioxidant system of infected M. rosenbergii. This result suggests that the two different dosages used in this study could not exert significant effects on the tested antioxidant capacity of L. garvieae-infected M. rosenbergii. On the other hand, AX-injected M. rosenbergii at either dose showed a significant increase in the THC and hepatopancreas AX content when compared with the challenged control group. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the injected AX led to an improvement in M. rosenbergii's resistance against L. garvieae infection.