This study examined the effect of ethanolic extract of Jania adhaerens (JAE) as dietary supplement on growth performance, digestive (chymotrypsin, trypsin, protease, lipase and αAmylase) and antioxidant enzyme activities ((Phenoloxidase activity (PO), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT), and Malondialdehyde (MDA)), immune response and susceptibility of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) to Photobacterium damselae infection. Four isonitrogenous diets containing 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 JAE g/kg were fed to shrimp (n = 600; mean = 1.24 ± 0.10 g) for 8 weeks. After feeding trial, 30 shrimps from each dietary treatment were infected with P. damselae (7.2 × 104CFU/mL) solution for 14 days. The results show that L. vannamei had better growth performance, antioxidant, and digestive enzyme activities than when fed control diet. The best growth, and antioxidant and immune response profiles were observed in shrimp fed diet containing 1.0 JAE g/kg. Also, shrimp fed 1.0 JAE g/kg diet had higher survival rate. These results revealed that inclusion of JAE at 1.0 g/kg doses improves growth, antioxidant activity, enhances the digestive enzymes and immunity of shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei fed with red seaweed Jania adhaerens against Photobacterium damselae infection.
