Effect of Buffer-Protected Sodium Butyrate in the Diet of Penaeus vannamei Shrimp

In the field of aquaculture, various studies indicate that the utilization of butyric acid presents multiple advantages, with findings suggesting enhancements in growth rates, reductions in stress levels, improvements in digestive capacity and function, as well as increased survival rates. Con-versely, research involving other organic acids, and their corresponding salts has indicated po-tential negative impacts on Penaeus vannamei. Consequently, this study was conducted to ascer-tain the optimal level of protected sodium butyrate (PSB) in shrimp diets. The experimental design employed was a completely randomized design, comprising treatments with four different levels of PSB (54% sodium butyrate) at 0, 2, 4, and 8 kg/t. PSB was sourced from Novation SL 2002 (Spain, Europe), which contains 54% sodium butyrate protected by a physical and chemical matrix composed of buffer salts. In summary, the supplementation of PSB from post-larvae to grow-out diets of Penaeus vannamei results in significant enhancements in overall health, histo-logical parameters, performance, meat production, and meat quality. Thus, the inclusion of PSB from post-larvae to grow-out diets of *Penaeus vannamei* facilitates substantial improvements in general health, histological parameters, performance, meat production, and meat quality.