With the persistent disease affecting shrimp, Grobest Group Chief Technology Development Officer Jennifer Kuo stated that functional feed is one alternative to address it. “We’ve seen very significant results using functional feed to combat EHP (Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei). In fact, the performance data is even better than the control,” she explained at a recent Grobest gala dinner with shrimp farmers.
Why are these results? When EHP attacks shrimp, they cannot grow, and protein is key to ensuring growth. She added that shrimp infected with EHP had a growth index (ADG) of only 0.03.
“Conversely, shrimp fed functional feed still grew normally because functional feed significantly suppressed EHP. It didn’t immediately reduce it to zero because it’s present in the environment, but it was suppressed so the infection rate wasn’t high, especially in the hepatocellular carcinoma.
The functional feed we developed is not made from chemicals, but from natural ingredients,” Jennifer explained.
Jennifer also presented a presentation showing the filaments on the digestive tracts of shrimp fed functional and non-functional feed. “From the pathological examination, we can see the texture or shape of healthy digestive tracts. We can distinguish between healthy and unhealthy ones. The digestive tracts of shrimp infected with EHP have damaged filaments on the digestive tracts. Meanwhile, the filaments on the digestive tracts of shrimp fed functional feed appear perfectly healthy, with the texture of the filaments, or lining, of the digestive tracts, normal,” she explained.
