Taurine 98.5%

Taurine: Critical Supplement For Marine Fish Feed

A feeding trial conducted with Florida pompano at Auburn University supported others’ findings that taurine may be an essential nutrient for some fish species. 

As marine ingredient levels are reduced in aquafeed,supplementation with low levels of taurine may be required to optimize production. Taurine may not only improve growth and performance, but also is required to reduce nutritional diseases such as green liver disease and low hematocrit levels in some fish. Taurine is authorized for fish feed in all species in the European Union and China, but not the United States.

Taurine In Aquaculture

There is also growing interest in using taurine in aquaculture diets. In the European Union and China, taurine is authorized for fish feed in all species. However, in the United States, current regulations would most likely need modification, as they do not list fish.

There is increasing interest in the replacement of fishmeal and other marine ingredients in aquafeeds with alternative proteins. Plant proteins such as soybean meal have received considerable attention, but they contain low or undetectable levels of taurine. In fact, many terrestrial animal meals do not contain adequate levels of taurine, and as a result of processing methods, taurine content varies considerably.

Fish Requirement

Increasing evidence indicates some marine fish have a conditional requirement for taurine. The taurine content in many
of the protein sources and attractants used in marine fish diets may be a primary contributor to the positive responses to these ingredients.

In fish, the ability to synthesize taurine varies among species due to differences in the activity of key enzymes on the pathway of taurine biosynthesis and during ontogenesis. Research has been conducted on several species of larval and juvenile fish, including Japanese flounders, European seabass, red sea bream,yellowtail, cobia, Florida pompano and sole, with results suggesting that taurine may be essential for younger fish. Freshwater species such as rainbow trout and tilapia have positively responded to taurine, whereas common carp and Atlantic salmon do not show a response.

A compilation of the utilization of taurine in diets for several marine and freshwater species is presented in Table 1. The table’s comparison among species leads to the conclusions that response to dietary taurine seems to be species-specific and varies among species and growth stages. These results indicate that the dietary supplementation of taurine may be necessary when taurine levels are lower than a minimum requirement.

Supplemental taurine may not only improve growth and performance, but also is required to reduce nutritional diseases
such as green liver disease and low hematocrit levels, which seem to be characteristic of a deficiency.