Enhancement of Growth Performance, Meat Quality, Digestive System, and Immunity of <i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i> Fed with Advanced Chelate Compounds-Based Minerals: A New Perspective on Chelation Technology

Abstract This study aimed to explore the effects of essential nutrients on various aspects of Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei , including growth performance, survival rates, tissue mineralization, digestive enzyme activity, and redox and immune status. Under the brand name Bonza ® shrimp, the chelated supplement, containing Zn, Cu, Mn, Mg, Ca, P, Fe, and Se, was manufactured based on the advanced chelate compound technology, registered with the United States Patent (No. US8288587B2). Then the shrimp (weight of 8.55±0.24 g; n = 420) were randomly assigned into six experimental groups (Bonza ® shrimp mixed in diet treatments: MT1: 250; MT2: 500; MT3: 1000 mg kg -1 , and sprayed on diet treatments: ST1: 250; ST2: 500; ST3: 1000 mg kg -1 ) and one control treatment (CT). At the end of the feeding trial (60 days), the shrimp fed with diets containing Bonza ® shrimp (especially MT3 treatment) showed a significant enhancement in growth performance, i.e., weight gain, survival, and feed conversion ratio, compared to the CT treatment (P&lt;0.05). Moreover, the supplementation of Bonza ® shrimp at the highest dose markedly increased the levels of the applied minerals and ash in the muscle tissue and whole body. Likewise, the administration of the organic supplement markedly raised the levels of total protein, glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride, particularly at the highest dosage, i.e., the MT3 treatment. Besides, the inclusion of this supplement considerably increased the activities of amylase, lipase, phenoloxidase, lysozyme, superoxide dismutase, alkaline phosphatase, and acid phosphatase enzymes (P&lt;0.05). Also, the total hemocyte count in shrimp fed with the supplement (MT2 and MT3) was significantly higher than the other treatments. Therefore, the supplementation of Bonza ® shrimp could not only improve the growth performance, macro- and microelement levels in the body, and digestive enzyme activities but also enhance the redox and immune status. The outcomes recommend that the supplement could adjust the energy allocation among various traits probably through optimizing the metabolism. According to the fitted linear regressions, furthermore, the method in which this organic supplement (at the level of 1000 mg kg -1 ) was premixed with the diet can be more effective than the top-dressing method. Together, this study introduces the mineral supplement, synthesized using a patented procedure, as a metabolism optimizer to enhance growth performance, meat quality, digestive system, and immunity of L. vannamei .