Novel and Sustainable Feed Ingredients in Aquaculture: Linking Nutrition, Immunity, and Stress Physiology

Aquaculture plays a critical role in global food security, yet its sustainability is increasingly challenged by reliance on conventional feed ingredients, environmental stressors, and disease outbreaks. The growing pressure to reduce fishmeal and fish oil usage has accelerated interest in novel and sustainable feed ingredients, including plant-based biomasses, insects, microbial proteins, and agro-industrial by-products. Beyond providing essential nutrients, many alternative feed resources contain functional bioactive compounds capable of modulating immune responses, enhancing antioxidant defense, and improving stress tolerance in aquatic organisms. Understanding how these feeds influence the interconnected pathways of nutrition, immunity, and stress physiology is essential for developing resilient, eco-friendly aquaculture systems capable of maintaining productivity under changing environmental conditions.The goal of this Research Topic is to consolidate recent advances in the development and application of novel and sustainable feed ingredients that enhance aquaculture performance by integrating nutritional efficiency with immune competence and stress resilience. This collection aims to highlight innovative feed resources and processing strategies that go beyond growth promotion to support fish health and welfare. Emphasis is placed on elucidating the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms through which alternative feed ingredients and their bioactive components influence immune modulation, oxidative balance, and stress responses. By linking nutritional interventions with functional outcomes, this Research Topic seeks to foster a holistic understanding of sustainable aquafeed design. The contributions will support evidence-based feed innovations that reduce environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and strengthen the adaptive capacity of aquaculture systems facing climatic and production-related stressors.This Research Topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, and short communications addressing sustainable feed innovation in aquaculture. Topics include novel feed ingredients (duckweed, algae, insects, microbial proteins), feed processing and extraction methods, growth and nutrient utilization, immune and antioxidant responses, stress physiology, gut health, and molecular or nutrigenomic mechanisms. Studies evaluating environmental sustainability, circular bioeconomy approaches, and reduction of fishmeal dependence are particularly encouraged. Manuscripts should clearly demonstrate novelty and link nutritional strategies with health and stress-related outcomes using robust experimental designs. Topic editors: Nitesh Kumar Yadav, Dr. D. K. Meena, Ravi Kumar Goswami, Mian Adnan Kakakhel (PhD) Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77422/novel-and-sustainable-feed-ingredients-in-aquaculture-linking-nutrition-immunity-and-stress-physiology