Finnish biotech start-up Enifer has published a new study conducted by study partner AquaBioTech Group at its aquaculture R&D facility, Innovia, evaluating the health benefits of using Enifer’s PEKILO Aqua mycoprotein in shrimp feeds. The results determined shrimp lived longer and were healthier when fed with PEKILO Aqua.
The study found the overall mortality rate was reduced in shrimp fed with the PEKILO Aqua diet, and that the survival rate increased from 74% to 85% among shrimp consuming the 30% PEKILO Aqua diet. Additionally, following carcass analysis, it was observed the crude protein content was significantly higher (2.5%) in the PEKILO Aqua-fed group compared to those fed diets containing higher levels of fishmeal.
PEKILO Aqua also includes immune-enhancing compounds like beta-glucan and nucleotides, which can help disease-prone shrimp build immune cells faster without damaging their energy reserves.
According to Enifer, the results also showed PEKILO Aqua contributes to improved shrimp growth without an increase in feed intake. Additionally, in addition to nucleotides, the ingredient contains another shrimp growth-enhancing compound, spermine.
“Our findings highlight the potential benefits of incorporating PEKILO Aqua into the diets of whiteleg shrimp for improved health, growth, and protein content. This research has important implications for sustainable and health-improving shrimp farming practices,” said Heikki Keskitalo, Business Development Manager and Co-founder of Enifer.
Enifer highlighted that there has been significant growth in the shrimp industry over the last decade, but studies conducted with farmers show that they’ve struggled with rising feed costs, market prices, diseases and broodstock quality. Addressing these issues is crucial for the long-term sustainability of shrimp farming, it said, highlighting that PEKILO Aqua not only delivers better performance in shrimp health and growth, it can also be locally produced with minimal land use and water consumption using upcycled side streams of several industries.
“We have several ongoing R&D projects to understand just how potential our PEKILO Aqua mycoprotein is in aquaculture. We already have excellent results when testing it with both salmon and now, shrimp. As we are gearing up our production, we are more than happy to discuss with feed producers about the benefits and potential of using our product instead of a fishmeal diet,” Keskitalo said.
The study was conducted with an eight-week nutrition trial to investigate the impact of replacing fishmeal in the diets of whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) with increasing levels (0 to 30%) of Enifer PEKILO Aqua. Shrimp were fed five diets, in quadruplicate, with reducing fishmeal dietary inclusion levels (24% to 0%).
Findings included:
- At the end of the growth period, shrimp fed the 0% fishmeal and 30% PEKILO Aqua diet exhibited significantly greater growth than those fed diets containing higher levels of fishmeal.
- The final average weight of shrimp in the 0% fishmeal and 30% PEKILO Aqua group was 25.8g, which represents a 10% increase in weight compared to the high fishmeal diet
- The survivability was 11% better in this group
- Palatability was comparable to that observed in the high fishmeal diet
