Dietary Alpha-Monolaurin for Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Stimulatory Effects on Growth, Immunohematological Indices, and Immune-Related Gene Expressions

Table 1

Formulation and proximate composition of the basal diet (g kg diet⁻¹, dry matter) containing different levels of alpha-monolaurin.

Ingredients	g kg^−1
Fish meal (58% crude protein, CP)	50
Soybean meal (44% CP)	425
Yellow corn (8% CP)	280
Wheat bran	100
Corn gluten (60% CP)	80
Soy oil	40
Vitamin and minerals^1	25
Proximate analysis (g kg^−^1)
Crude protein	306.7
Crude lipid	65.3
Ash	10.7
Fiber	42.3
NFE^b	557.4
Gross energy (MJ kg ^−1)^3	19.43

¹Vitamin and mineral mixture kg⁻¹ contains 4800 I.U. Vit A, 2400 IU cholecalciferol (vit. D), 40 g Vit E, 8 g Vit K, 4.0 g Vit B12, 4.0 g Vit B2, 6 g Vit B6, 4.0 g, pantothenic acid, 8.0 g nicotinic acid, 400 mg folic acid, 20 mg biotin, 200 g choline, 4 g copper, 0.4 g iodine, 12 g iron, 22 g manganese, 22 g zinc, 0.04 g selenium, folic acid, 1.2 mg niacin, 12 mg d-calcium pantothenate, 26 mg pyridoxine, 6 mg HCl, 7.2 mg riboflavin, thiamin, 1.2 mg HCl, sodium chloride (NaCl: 39% Na, 61% Cl), 3077 mg ferrous sulfate (FeSO4.7H2O: 20% Fe), 65 mg manganese sulfate (MnSO4: 36% Mn), 89 mg zinc sulfate (ZnSO4.7H2O: 40% Zn), 150 mg copper sulfate (CuSO4.5H2O: 25% Cu), and 28 mg potassium iodide (KI: 24% K, 76% I). ²NFE (nitrogen-free extract) = 100 − (crude protein + crude lipid + ash + fiber content). ³Gross energy calculated using gross calorific values of 23.63, 39.52, and 17.15 kJ g⁻¹ for protein, fat, and carbohydrate, respectively, according to Brett [25].