Pathological findings owing to the lack of ascorbic acid in cultured gilthead bream (Sparus aurata L.)

Citation

Alexis M, Karanikolas KK & Richards R (1997) Pathological findings owing to the lack of ascorbic acid in cultured gilthead bream (Sparus aurata L.). Aquaculture, 151 (1-4), pp. 209-218. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0044-8486%2896%2901475-5

Abstract
The appearance of pathological signs owing to vitamin C deficiency and the wound healing response were followed in experiments with gilthead bream, initial weight 0.5 g, fed with increasing levels of ascorbic acid in the diets. The levels of ascorbic acid used ranged from 0 to 3.2 g kg-1 diet. Certain pathological signs such as extensive tubular damage, glomerulonephritis, and inflammatory response of the haemopoetic tissue producing granuloma and in some cases extending in the nearby tissues and organs, appeared in all fish fed the vitamin C deficient diet, while fish fed the diet supplemented with 50 mg ascorbate per kilogram of diet showed only damage to renal tubules. The gross deficiency signs observed were anorexia, scale loss, depigmentation, internal and external haemorrhages. Mortalities reached a high level after the first month of rearing. The wound healing response showed a direct correlation to ascorbate level in the diet. The unknown etiology of granulomatosis observed by other researchers in cultured seabream may be related to vitamin C deficiency, since in this experiment, it produced the same kidney pathology.

Keywords
Gilthead bream; Sparus aurata; Vitamine C deficiency; Ascorbic acid; Kidney pathology

Journal
Aquaculture: Volume 151, Issue 1-4

People

Professor Randolph Richards

Emeritus Professor, Institute of Aquaculture