Selenium and vitamin E supplementation alleviate high-fat diet-induced stress in oreochromis niloticus: enhancing growth, antioxidant defense, and disease resistance

Abstract

This study investigated the interactive effects of dietary fat levels and selenium–vitamin E (Se + VE) supplementation on the growth performance, antioxidant status, immune response, and disease resistance of Oreochromis niloticus . The fish were fed diets containing 5%, 10%, or 15% lipids with or without Se + VE supplementation over a 60-day experimental period. Growth metrics, including final weight, weight gain, average daily gain, and feed efficiency, were significantly improved in the group receiving 10% fat supplemented with Se + VE, whereas high-fat (15%) diets without supplementation resulted in impaired performance ( P P P Streptococcus agalactiae , Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed significantly improved survival rates in the Se + VE-supplemented groups, with the greatest protection observed in the 5% and 10% fat diet groups. The clinical and pathological scores corroborated these findings, revealing reduced lesion severity in the supplemented groups. Collectively, these results demonstrate that dietary supplementation with Se and VE effectively counters the adverse effects of high-fat diets, improving metabolic balance, tissue integrity, and disease resistance in O. niloticus .

Bibliographic Information