The effect of Astragalus polysaccharide on growth, gut and liver health, and anti-viral immunity of zebrafish

Abstract Our study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) on growth performance, gut and liver health and anti-viral capability of zebrafish. Zebrafish were fed control diet and the experimental diets containing 0.01% or 0.02% APS for three weeks. Growth performance, gut health parameters such as expression of inflammatory and tight junction genes, antioxidant capability, and microbiota composition were detected after three weeks feeding. Liver health was evaluated by serum ALT and AST levels, as well as expression of genes realated to inflammation and lipid metabolism. Zebrafish were challenged by SVCV at the end of feeding. The antiviral immune response was evaluated at 4 days post SVCV infection and survival rate was calculated 14 days after challenge. The results showed that 0.01% and 0.02% APS supplementation increased weight gain and decreased the FCR of zebrafish (P