Effects of dietary Lactobacillus acidophilus and tussah immunoreactive substances supplementation on physiological and immune characteristics of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus)

Abstract To investigate the effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus and tussah immunoreactive substances (TIS) supplementation alone or together on the growth performance, digestive and immune-related enzyme activities, and intestinal microbiota of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, a feeding experiment was conducted. The supplementation of L. acidophilus and TIS together produced the maximum digestive and immune activities, while the minimum values occurred in the control group. No remarkable differences in enzyme activities were observed when supplemented individually. Dietary L. acidophilus and TIS in combination might be more capable of improving digestive capacity, food utilization rate, phosphatase-responsiveness and antioxidants. Furthermore, the supplementation of L. acidophilus and TIS in combination demonstrated a greater ability to optimize the intestinal microbiota of A. japonicus by increasing the potentially beneficial bacteria involved in energy production and biosynthesis, and suppressing the opportunistic pathogens. These results collectively indicated that the combined supplementation of L. acidophilus and TIS has a synergistic effect on enhancing immunity and digestibility, and could improve the intestinal microbiota structure of A. japonicus, suggesting potential for industrial feeding applications.