Delivering Bioactive Compounds to Fish Larvae Using Microencapsulated Diets
The successful rearing of fish larvae is one of the greatest challenges in modern aquaculture
due to the difficulty of delivering essential nutrients and bioactive compounds to the developing
digestive system of larvae. Microencapsulated diets have emerged as an innovative approach
for improving nutrient stability, reducing leaching losses, and ensuring effective delivery of
biologically active substances. This article discusses the role of microencapsulation technology
in transporting important bioactive compounds such as hormones, amino acids, and vitamins
into fish larvae. Protein-walled microcapsules are designed to retain nutrients in water while
remaining digestible to larval fish after ingestion. Studies on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)
and Senegal sole (Solea senegalensis) demonstrated successful incorporation of estradiol,
lysine, and vitamin C into larval tissues through microencapsulated diets. The technology
showed high retention efficiency for amino acids and effective delivery of hormones and
vitamins, although encapsulation efficiency and growth responses varied among compounds.
Microencapsulated feeds also offer advantages such as reduced nutrient wastage, improved
water quality, and the possibility of partial replacement of live feeds. However, challenges
including nutrient leaching, low incorporation efficiency, and incomplete digestive utilization
still limit full commercial application. Despite these limitations, microencapsulation represents
a promising strategy for precision larval nutrition and functional feed development in
aquaculture. Future advancements in encapsulation techniques may further improve larval
growth, survival, immunity, and sustainability in fish hatchery systems.