Sulforaphane Repairs Oxidative Stress Damage Induced by Oxidized Fish Oil by Activating Nrf2 in Litopenaeus vannamei

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an essential component in regulating oxidative stress. Sulforaphane (SFN) is a natural antioxidant and gene Nrf2 agonist that can increase the antioxidant capacity of the organism and reduce oxidative stress. However, research on the repair of oxidative stress damage by SFN in aquatic animals remains extremely scarce. In order to further explore the function and role of SFN in the repair of oxidative stress injury in aquatic animals, this study took Litopenaeus vannamei as the research object. We established an oxidative stress model of L. vannamei through 6% oxidized fish oil (OFO) feeding. Methods, such as RNA interference (RNAi), qPCR, histopathological analysis, and TUNEL assay, were used to detect the changes in the oxidative stress status of L. vannamei. The results showed that the expression of Nrf2 in the hepatopancreas of L. vannamei in the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-Nrf2 + SFN group was significantly higher than that in the dsRNA-Nrf2 group and control group at 24 h (p < 0.05). The transcription levels of antioxidant and autophagy genes in the SFN group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05), and the expression of related genes in the dsRNA-Nrf2 + SFN group was also higher than that in the dsRNA-Nrf2 group. Histopathology showed that Nrf2 knockdown would aggravate hepatopancreatic apoptosis and vacuolation, while SFN treatment after Nrf2 knockdown could alleviate hepatopancreatic injury and apoptosis caused by OFO. The results indicated that SFN could repair the oxidative stress injury of L. vannamei induced by OFO by activating Nrf2. This study investigated the role of SFN in alleviating and repairing the oxidative stress damage in L. vannamei caused by OFO, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the research on the antioxidant effect of SFN and the regulation of the antioxidant capacity of shrimp.