Beneficial effects of soybean lecithin and vitamin C combination in fingerlings gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) diets on; fish performance, oxidation status and genes expression responses

Soybean lecithin (SBL) individually or fortified with ascorbic acid (C) was supplied in fingerlings gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) diets for 60 days and at the end of the experiment the impacts on fish growth performance, feed utilization, body composition, fatty acids profile and oxidation status were evaluated. The six experimental diets contained three levels of SBL; 0, 20 and 40 g/Kg diet with and without C supplementation (500 mg/Kg diet). Four hundred fifty juvenile gilthead seabream of 0.49 ± 0.02 g initial body weight were randomly housed into 18 tanks (120L) with a stocking density of 25 fish per tank. Results indicated that SBL and C blend supplementation improved fish growth performance and feed utilization compared to SBL alone. A significant increase (P