Vitamin C and Disease Resistance in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

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Abstract
Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fingerlings were fed semipurified diets containing 0–150 mg/kg of vitamin C for 14 wk and subsequently at two temperature regimes infected with the pathogenic bacterium Edwardsiella tarda. Mortality rates were determined 96 h after infection. A supplemental vitamin C level of 30 mg/kg of diet was sufficient for normal growth and for prevention of deficiency signs such as lordosis, scoliosis, and a reduction in bone collagen formation. However, increased resistance against infection was provided when the level of supplemental vitamin C was increased to the highest dietary level, 150 mg/kg, at a water temperature of 23 °C. At 33 °C, increasing the supplemental level of vitamin C had significantly less effect on resistance against infection. The difference in response at the two temperatures indicates that the vitamin C requirement for resistance to infection is possibly higher when channel catfish are infected at lower temperatures, where the natural resistance is reduced, than when infected at a temperature near optimum for the natural resistance mechanisms of the fish.Key words: vitamin C, channel catfish, disease resistance, Edwardsiella tarda, infection