Digestibility of chloramphenicol, oxolinic acid and oxytetracycline in rainbow trout and influence of these antibiotics on lipid digestibility

Abstract Chloramphenicol (CP), oxolinic acid (OA) and oxytetracycline (OT) were fed to rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri Richardson) at two different concentrations (0.1 and 0.5%) in a dry diet. At either dose, the apparent digestibility of CP was close to 99%, whereas it was in the 7–9% range for OT. For OA, these percentages were 38.1 and 14.3% for the 0.1 and 0.5% doses respectively. The analyses of lipids in the different groups demonstrated that antibiotics have no significant effect on the total lipid content and total fatty acids of the trout. However, all the antibiotics significantly enhanced the digestibility of some unsaturated fatty acids when given at the 0.5% dose.