Comparative evaluation of four purified dietary proteins for the juvenile Penaeus indicus

Four purified proiems. albumen (egg), casein, fibrin (blood), and gelatin, were evaluated for the juvenile penaeid prawn Penaeus indicus (24,5 mm in length and 63 mg in weight) and compared in terms of their true digestibility (TD). net protein utilization (NPU). protein efficiency ratio (PER), and biological value (8V) in conjunction with growth and food conversion ratio (FCR). The metabolic faecal nitrogen (MFN) was found to be 324 mg N per 100 g diet consumed. Among the purified proteins tested, gelatin showed high TD of 93.4% (p . 0.05) followed by fibrin (82.4%), casein (76.4%), and albumen (72.5%). However, fibrin and albumen recorded high NPU and BV, gelatin showing poor results. The albumen diet gave the highest growth and PER (p < 0,01) and low FCR and emerged as the best protein source for juvenile P. indicus