Phytase Enzyme Improves Growth Performance and Body Chemical Composition of Sangkuriang Catfish (Clarias gariepinus var. Sangkuriang) Juvenile

Abstract

Due to their nutritional value, alternative vegetable materials such as soybean are needed to promote sustainable aquaculture development. However, phytate in soybean could interfere with the protein digestion of the fish body. This study examines the effectiveness of phytate enzymes in enhancing protein digestibility, growth performance, mineral digestion, and body chemical composition of Sangkuriang catfish (Clarias gariepinus var. Sangkuriang) juveniles. The study was completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 3 repetitions. One hundred thirteen Sangkuriang catfish juveniles (7.65 ± 0.14 g) were used for each repetition. The fish were fed with an experimental diet supplemented with various doses of phytase enzyme: 0 (A), 500 (B), 1,000 (C), and 1,500 (D) FTU/kg of feed. The mineral digestibility, protein digestibility, protein efficiency ratio (PER), feed conversion ratio (FCR), the efficiency of feed utilization (EFU), apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCp), relative growth rate (RGR), and survival rate (SR) were observed. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance followed by Duncan’s multiple range test. The results showed that adding 1,000 FTU/kg of phytase enzyme (C) exhibited the highest PER, FCR, EFU, ADCp, and RGR value of Sangkuriang catfish juveniles compared to other treatments. All treatment groups (B-C) had the same SR value (100%) and had the highest crude protein and ash content compared to the A group. All group treatments also exhibited a higher phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, and cobalt. Therefore, phytase enzyme supplementation could improve protein digestibility, mineral digestibility, growth performance, and body chemical composition of Sangkuriang catfish juveniles.