Black death: an ascorbic acid deficiency disease in penaeid shrimp

1. 1. The physiological requirement for ascorbic acid (AsA) has been established for two species of penaeid shrimp: Penaeus californiensis (Holmes) and Penaeus stylirostris (Stimpson). 2. 2. The AsA deficiency disease syndrome, called black death disease (BD), has been characterized by melanized lesions in the loose connective tissue under the exoskeleton, on the abdomen, on the carapace, in the gills, and in the foregut and hindgut. 3. 3. Tissue levels of AsA showed a positive correlation with intake of AsA and with change in survival and negatively correlated with occurrence of BD. 4. 4. Experiments demonstrated a statistical advantage (P < 0.05) in growth and survival in P. californiensis and for growth in P. stylirostris fed diets containing AsA.