Effect of Food Deprivation and Refeeding on Antioxidant Defense Status in Asian Sea Bass ( <i>Lates calcarifer</i> )

This study examined the impact of short‐term starvation on oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms in juvenile Asian sea bass ( Lates calcarifer ). Juvenile fish (35 ± 9 g) were randomly allocated to 12 300 L fiberglass tanks (15 fish/tank) following acclimation. Experimental treatments (in triplicate) consisted of starvation periods of 2, 4, and 8 days, each followed by 16 days of refeeding, alongside a continuously fed control group. Fish were hand‐fed a commercial diet to satiation twice daily. Liver and muscle tissues were sampled poststarvation and postrefeeding, following euthanasia with 2‐phenoxyethanol. Growth performance; lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA); and activities of key antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were assessed. Starvation significantly influenced weight gain, with the 8‐day group exhibiting reduced growth compared to other treatments ( p &lt; 0.05). Antioxidant enzyme activities in muscle tissue remained unchanged across treatments; however, liver samples from the 8‐day starvation group showed significant alterations in antioxidant indices ( p &lt; 0.05). These findings indicate that hepatic antioxidant defense is more responsive to starvation period than muscle tissue is and that starvation period of 8 days or longer may induce oxidative stress in the liver.