Dietary high lipid and high plant-protein affected growth performance, liver health, bile acid metabolism and gut microbiota in groupers

Abstract High lipid diets (HLD) and high plant-protein diets (HPD) exhibit potential fishmeal-saving effects but negatively impact liver health and growth performance in fish. We hypothesized that HLD and HPD impair liver health in pearl gentian groupers (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♂ × Epinephelus lanceolatus♀) through the modulation of intestinal microbiota and bile acid (BA) metabolism. Four diet groups were tested: control diet (CD, 46.21% crude protein, 9.48% crude lipid), HLD (46.37% crude protein, 16.70% crude lipid), HPD (46.50% crude protein, 9.38% crude