This work aims to determine the impact of dietary supplementation of polysaccharide, extracted from brown seaweeds Sargassum dentifolium on growth indices, feed utilization, biochemical compositions, microbial abundance, expressions of growth and immunity-related genes, and stress genes of the Pacific Whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. A total of 360 post-larvae of L. vannamei were randomly distributed into a 12-glass aquarium (40 L of each) at a stocking density of 30 shrimp with an initial weight of (0.0017 ± 0.001 g). During the 90-day experiment trial, all shrimp larvae were fed their respective diets at 10% of total body weight, three times a day. Three experimental diets were prepared with different seaweed polysaccharide (SWP) levels. The basal control diet had no polysaccharide level (SWP₀), while SWP₁, SWP₂, and SWP₃ contained polysaccharides at concentrations of 1, 2, and 3 g kg⁻¹ diet, respectively. Diets supplemented with polysaccharide levels showed significant improvements in weight gain and survival rate, compared to the control diet. Whole-body biochemical composition and the microbial abundance (the total count of heterotrophic bacteria and Vibrio spp.) of L. vannamei showed significant differences among polysaccharide-treated diets compared to the control. At the end of the feeding experiment, the dietary supplementation of polysaccharide levels enhanced the expression of growth-related genes (Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I, IGF-II), immune-related genes (β -Glucan-binding protein (β-Bgp), Prophenoloxidase (ProPO), Lysozyme (Lys), and Crustin), and stress genes (Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the muscle tissue of L. vannamei. However, the current study concluded that the inclusion rate of 2 g kg^–1 of polysaccharide as a dietary additive administration enhanced both weight gain and survival rate of L. vannamei, while the incorporation level of 3 g kg^–1 reduces the abundance of pathogenic microbes and enhances the growth-, immunity- and stress-related gene expressions of L. vannamei.

Seaweeds are increasingly intriguing as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds. They have applications in agriculture, fuels, feed, and food products. To become a cost-competitive product with zero waste, a biorefinery approach is applied, where several products are valorized at the same time. True-Algae-Max (TAM^®) has been investigated for its ability to improve the yield and nutritional facts of a strawberry plant. Three concentrations of TAM (0, 50, and 100%) were examined by foliar spray in 2017 with 50% NPK chemical fertilizer. Results indicated that growth, yield, chlorophyll, and potassium content were significantly improved by TAM treatments. TAM50 % resulted in maximum root length, leaf area, plant fresh weight, fruit weight, and yield with an increase ranging from 10 to 110% compared to control. Compared to the NPK control, strawberries grown with TAM50% improved total soluble solids (TSS) from 7.58 to 10.12% and anthocyanin from 23.08 to 29.42 mg CGE 100 g⁻¹. Noteworthily, this reduced total sugar, and total phenolics were boosted by TAM applications, while non-reducing sugar was reduced compared to control. On the other hand, whole seaweed biomass and TAM residuals were used for bioethanol production by acid scarification. The maximum bioethanol yield was observed in residual biomass (0.34 g g⁻¹ dw), while the whole seaweed biomass showed only 0.20 g g⁻¹ dw. These results proved the biorefinery concept of using seaweed extract as a biostimulator and bioethanol production.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of NaOH addition, autoclaving and their combination on the protein and pepsin digestibility of chicken feathers. Methodology: The first experiment consisted of the following treatments: (1) The 2 h treatment with 1.0 M of NaOH, (2) The 12 h treatment with 1.0 M of NaOH, (3) The 24 h treatment with 1.0 M of NaOH and (4) Control, consisting of raw feathers incubated with only 100 mL of distilled water for 24 h at 37°C. The second experiment consisted of the following treatments: (1) Raw chicken feathers autoclaved at 2.5*105 Pa, at a temperature of 121°C for 30 min and (2) Raw chicken feathers soaked in 0.5% NaOH solution for 24 h, followed by autoclaving at 2.5*105 Pa and 121°C for 30 min. Results: The prolonged treatment (24 and 12 h) with NaOH improved feather solubility but resulted in lower protein retention, whereas the addition of NaOH followed by autoclaving resulted in higher protein content and increased in vitro pepsin digestibility. Conclusion:The addition of NaOH followed by autoclaving is recommended as a treatment for processing of chicken feathers.

This work investigated the molecular identification and potential application of the cyanobacterial strain Desertifilum tharense NIOF17/006 as a novel aquafeed additive for whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) postlarvae (PLs). Morphological and molecular characterization confirmed the isolate as D. tharense, with the 16S rRNA sequence analysis showing high similarity (98.01%–98.53%) to the known strains of D. tharense. Biochemical analysis revealed that the isolate contains 37.74% protein, 5.52% lipid, and 21.25% carbohydrate, on a dry weight basis. An 8-week feeding trial for L. vannamei PLs evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with D. tharense NIOF17/006 at doses of 0, 1, 2.5, and 5 g/kg diet. Compared with shrimp in the control group, shrimp fed D. tharense-supplemented diets had significantly higher feed utilization, growth performance, survival rate, and whole body composition. The nonspecific immunity parameters (i.e., lysozyme, superoxide dismutase, and catalase), as well as the digestive enzyme activity of amylase and lipase, were significantly enhanced in shrimp fed diets supplemented with cyanobacteria, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels decreased. The gene expression analysis revealed the upregulation of growth-related genes (growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I, and insulin-like growth factor II) and the immune-related genes prophenoloxidase (proPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and lysozyme (Lys) in shrimp muscles with increasing cyanobacteria supplementation, particularly at doses of 2.5–5 g/kg diet. Moreover, the polynomial regression machine learning model predicts that the ideal supplementation level of the probiotic cyanobacteria D. tharense NIOF17/006 ranges from 3.4 to 4.2 g/kg diet. This study demonstrates the potential of D. tharense NIOF17/006 as a promising aquafeed additive for improvement of the growth, immunity, and overall health of L. vannamei PLs, opening a new avenue for sustainable aquaculture practices.