The most classic application of tea saponine in aquaculture is as a pond cleaning and pest control agent. It effectively eliminates wild fish, harmful insects, and invasive pests such as golden apple snails from shrimp and crab culture ponds, while exhibiting virtually no toxicity to shrimp and crabs themselves. This selective toxicity makes it an ideal pond purifying agent. Recent studies have shown that the 24-hour median lethal concentration (LC50) of tea saponin against adult golden apple snails is 6.18 mg/L, indicating that it achieves desirable molluscicidal effects at relatively low concentrations. This finding is particularly significant given the growing threat of golden apple snail invasions — traditional chemical molluscicides, while effective against snails, but it has the same toxicity to the ecosystem. Tea saponin's natural selectivity effectively addresses this industry challenge.
Tea saponina powder exhibits significant growth-promoting effects in shrimp culture. Research indicates that when an optimal concentration of tea saponin (6.18 mg/L) is applied to the culture water, shrimps achieve a weight gain rate of 207.22% and a specific growth rate of 3.74% by day 30, significantly outperforming the control group. Furthermore, tea saponine facilitates successful molting in shrimp and crabs, thereby promoting their growth and development. This benefit is attributed to enhanced digestive enzyme activities — studies have found that amylase and trypsin activities in tea saponin-treated groups were significantly elevated, indicating improved digestive and absorptive functions in the cultured species.
In recent years, significant progress has also been made in research on tea saponin as an aquatic feed additive. To address the issue of liver damage and immunosuppression in farmed fish caused by high-fat, low-protein diets, studies have shown that appropriate supplementation of tea saponin (0.05%–0.10%) can significantly improve the antioxidant capacity and immune function of hybrid groupers, reduce hepatic inflammatory infiltration, and upregulate the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Research indicates that the optimal supplementation level for maximizing growth performance is 0.055%. It is important to note that the effects of tea saponin are dose-dependent — excessive supplementation can inhibit growth and exacerbate liver damage, making precise dosage control critical to achieving its beneficial effects.
As a natural, biodegradable, and ecologically friendly plant-derived active substance, tea saponin is demonstrating broad application prospects in aquaculture pond cleansing, pest control, growth promotion, and feed formulation. With continued research advancements and ongoing refinement of application technologies, tea saponin is poised to play an increasingly important role in the global green transformation of the aquaculture industry.
For more information about tea saponin products or to inquire about application solutions, please feel free to contact Jinrui Biotech.
Email: salesmanager@xajinruibio.com
Phone/WhatsApp: +86 131 6572 3252
