Dietary Essential Oils Supplementation: A Powerful Tool to Minimize Nitrogen Losses

摘要

Several trends put contradictory pressures on the aquaculture industry. Reliance on scarce and costly raw materials such as fishmeal and the optimal use of alternative ingredients constitute a main challenge in aquaculture. Consumer awareness about environmental sustainability encourages producers to improve production performance through sustainable aquaculture practices. However, the use of less costly protein sources and low-nutrient dense diets most likely leads to lower protein digestibility, higher amino acid imbalance, higher carbohydrate and fiber content in feeds. Consequently, this can lead to inefficient nutrient use, resulting in increased feed usage, greater susceptibility to disease and higher ammonia emissions — raising production costs and increasing the ecological footprint.