Benefits of adding nucleotides into salmon feed

Wild salmon fishing is far from meeting the supply of salmon. Although farmed salmon has been dominant since 1999 and production has been increasing, it faces high stress or low immune risks due to changes in the living environment of salmon caused by aquaculture. Nucleotides are a class of compounds composed of purine or pyrimidine bases, ribose or deoxyribose, and phosphate, which are also core substances for genetic information and biosynthesis in life. Nucleotides are essential nutrients for animals during rapid growth and development, helping the body alleviate the deficiency of essential growth substances.

The role and advantages of nucleotides

Nucleotides have high biological activity, rich nutritional components, easy absorption, strong controllability, and wide applicability in animal nutrition, making them an ideal feed additive. By supplementing nucleotides, animal growth and development, immune function, production performance, and stress resistance can be enhanced, thereby improving aquaculture efficiency.

High biological activity and rich nutritional components. Nucleotide products have high biological activity, can be quickly absorbed and utilised by animals, and have significant promoting effects on animal growth, development, immune function, and other aspects. Nucleotides usually contain various types of nucleotides and their derivatives (such as nucleotides, etc.), which play a crucial role in animal life activities, such as participating in the synthesis of genetic materials, energy metabolism, etc. Easy to absorb and highly adjustable. The molecular structure of nucleotide products is relatively small, making them easy to absorb through the animal intestine and enter the bloodstream, thereby better exerting their biological effects. Nucleotides can be adjusted according to the needs of animal growth and development stages, breeding environment, and feed formula to meet the nutritional needs of different animals in different physiological states. Strong adaptability of formulated feed: Nucleotide products can be used in conjunction with other feed ingredients (such as protein, fat, minerals, etc.) to achieve nutritional complementarity and improve the overall nutritional value and bioavailability of feed. Anti-stress ability. Nucleotide products have significant anti stress effects during specific stages of animal growth and development, reproduction, and stress, helping to improve animal resistance and adaptability. Wide applicability. Nucleotide products are suitable for various animals, such as livestock, poultry, and aquatic products, and have significant nutritional effects on both young and adult animals.

Research and application of nucleotides in salmon

Nucleotide regulate the growth of aquatic animals. As a conditionally essential nutrient, nucleotide participate in the metabolic processes of various enzymes and growth factors, as well as signal transduction in cells. They are an important guarantee for the rapid growth and development of animals and their normal physiological functions. Previous studies have shown that adding exogenous nucleotides to feed can promote the growth and intestinal health of aquatic animals such as salmon and improve their ability to resist stress. Fu et al. found that when the feed contained 0.60% nucleotides, the low osmotic regulation ability of Atlantic salmon was improved, which also improved growth performance. Burrells et al. found that adding nucleotides to the diet of Atlantic salmon can significantly improve the effectiveness of vaccination, reduce mortality after challenge infections, enhance osmotic regulation after saltwater transfer, increase growth rate, and improve intestinal morphology. Further nucleotide supplementation can improve the health status and stress tolerance of salmon animals.

YeaNucleo is a concentrated nucleotide or its precursor product extracted from brewing yeast. It can supplement the deficiency of nucleotide synthesis in animals during stress or rapid growth processes. In addition, it can enhance palatability, improve intestinal health, promote development, immunity, and growth. The experimental results showed that adding 300mg/kg YeaNucleo to the feed significantly increased the height of intestinal folds in salmon (Figure 1), indicating that the product has a good effect in promoting the growth and development of the gastrointestinal tract.

Figure 1- Intestinal fold heights in different regions of the intestinal tract of salmon fed the control or YeaNucleo.

^{Animal: 300 similar-sized (mean initial weight 205 g) Atlantic salmon, were randomly allocated to 6×1 m tanks with 50 fish per tank (2×3 replicates) for 10 weeks. Nucleotide diet group extra added 300mg/kg nucleotides compared with control diet.The“*” indicated significant difference (P<0.05).}

When an animal’s body experiences immune stress, the synthesis of endogenous nucleotides in the body cannot meet the requirements of immune cells. By adding nucleotides, fish’s resistance to various pathogens, such as bacterial pathogens and viral pathogens, can be enhanced. The experimental results showed that adding 300mg/kg YeaNucleo to the feed can significantly reduce the cumulative mortality rate of salmon after poisoning (Figure 2), indicating that the product has a good effect in enhancing the immunity of salmon.

Figure 2 – Cumulative mortalities due to infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) virus in groups of Atlantic salmon fed prior to challenge-exposure the control (roundness) or nucleotide (triangle) diet.

_{Animal: 600 similar-sized (53~55 g) Atlantic salmon, were randomly allocated to 6 m tanks with 100 fish per tank (2×3 replicates) for 53d, and 60 similarly sized fish were injected intraperitoneally with ISA virus. Nucleotide diet group extra added 300mg/kg nucleotides compared with control diet. The “*” indicated significant difference P<0.05).}

Positive functions of using YeaNucleo

YeaNucleo is an ideal feed additive for salmon, used to supplement insufficient nucleotide synthesis during stress or rapid growth.  Its mortality rate in reducing salmon exposure to viruses has been proven through experiments. In addition, the feed additive may have other positive functions, such as increasing the number of macrophages, lymphocyte activity, and immunoglobulin production, both of which indirectly contribute to anti stress.