Alternative vegetable lipid sources in diets for grouper, Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton): effects on growth, and muscle and liver fatty acid composition

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different oils on growth performance and lipid metabolism of the grouper, Epinephelus coioides. Five experimental fish meal‐based isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated containing either 5.5%‐added fish oil (FO), soybean oil (SBO), corn oil (CO), sunflower oil (SFO) or peanut oil (PO). Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of 20 fish (initial body weight 13.2±0.02 g) grown in seawater at 28.0–30.5 °C for 8 weeks. Fish were fed twice a day to visual satiety. No significant differences in the survival, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio or hepatosomatic index were found between fish fed the FO or vegetable oils (VO) diets. Dietary lipid sources did not affect whole‐body composition among grouper fed the various diets. Muscle of fish fed the FO diet had significantly higher levels of 14:0, 16:0, 16:1n‐7, 20:5n‐3[eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)] and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)+EPA (except for PO fed fish) compared with those of fish fed VO diets. However, the levels of 18:1n‐9, 18:2n‐6 and DHA/EPA ratios in the muscle of fish fed FO diet were significantly lower than those of fish fed the VO diets. The liver of fish fed the FO diet had significantly higher levels of 18:0, 20:5n‐3, 22:6n‐3, n‐3 highly unsaturated fatty acids and DHA+EPA than those of fish fed the VO diets, whereas increases in 18:1n‐9, 18:2n‐6 and mono‐unsaturated fatty acid levels were observed in the liver of fish fed the VO diets.     

Distribution and abundance of overwintering Calanus finmarchicus in the Faroe–Shetland Channel

The distribution and abundance of overwintering Calanus finmarchicus in the Faroe–Shetland Channel was studied during December 1994 and January 1995. Maximum abundance of animals in the Channel was approximately 50 000 m⁻², with a peak concentration of 627 m⁻³ at a depth of 930 m. Copepodite stages IV and V accounted for > 98% of the population. A clear association was found between the horizontal and vertical distribution of animals and the Arctic water masses in the bottom of the Faroe–Shetland Channel. The Wyville–Thomson Ridge formed a barrier to the southern distribution of Arctic waters and the abundance of overwintering C. finmarchicus was 25 times lower to the south of the Ridge than to the north. Spatial variability in lipid content and composition indicated that overwintering C. finmarchicus in the southern Norwegian Sea were in poorer condition with respect to wax ester content, and in a more advanced state of emergence from overwintering, than the animals within the Channel. The overwintering stock in the Channel probably originated from the Norwegian Sea or from north of the Faroe Islands. The Faroe–Shetland Channel is an important source of animals advected into the northern North Sea in the spring (March/April). The population abundance in the Faroe–Shetland Channel was estimated to be 4.5 × 10¹⁴ individuals, which is more than adequate to account for the mean concentration of adult stages observed in the northern North Sea in April.     

Effects of dietary vitamin E level on growth and tissue lipid peroxidation of soft-shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann)

A feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation on growth, liver lipid peroxidation and liver and muscle vitamin E level of soft‐shelled turtle, Pelodiscus sinensis. Eight experimental diets analysed to contain 0–457 IU vitamin E kg^?1 were fed to juvenile soft‐shelled turtle of 4.8 g initial body weight for 12 weeks. Weight gain (WG) of the turtles fed the diet containing no vitamin E was significantly lower than those fed diets containing 83–457 IU vitamin E kg^?1 (P<0.05). Feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio showed similar trends to that of WG. No significant difference (P>0.05) was found in whole‐body composition among turtles fed the different diets. Dietary vitamin E requirement using WG as the response and estimated using the broken‐line regression model is approximately 88 IU kg^?1. Liver and muscle vitamin E content increased when dietary vitamin E level increased. Ascorbate‐induced lipid peroxidation in liver tissue of turtles fed diets containing 0 and 17 IU vitamin E kg^?1 was significantly (P<0.05) greater than those fed diets containing high vitamin E (≥35 IU kg^?1).     

Lipids and fatty acids in wild and pond-reared mud crab Scylla serrata (Forsskål) during ovarian maturation and spawning

Wild‐caught and pond‐reared female mud crab Scylla serrata at different stages of ovarian maturation were collected from Samar and Capiz, Philippines. Crabs were categorized into five stages according to the external morphological and microscopic appearance of the most advanced oocytes. The ovaries, hepatopancreas, muscle and newly spawned eggs (NSE) were analysed for lipid class components and fatty acids. Total lipid was higher in pond‐reared than in wild‐caught crabs but increased with ovarian maturation in both groups. Ovarian lipid peaked at the fully mature stage, coinciding with a decline in hepatopancreatic and muscle lipids. Lipid levels declined significantly in spent females. The tissues contained elevated highly unsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic (20:4n‐6), eicosapentaenoic (20:5n‐3) and docosahexaenoic (22:6n‐3) acids, but at higher levels in late maturing and fully mature ovaries and in NSE. The type of lipid class and fatty acid components in mature ovaries as well as in NSE are generally considered to be indicative of their importance in reproductive physiology and embryonic and larval development.     

Phospholipase A<Subscript>1</Subscript> activity of crude enzyme extracted from the ovaries of skipjack tuna

The phospholipid class composition, fatty acid composition and phospholipase A₁ (PLA₁) activity from the ovaries of skipjack tuna were compared with those of six other species of marine fish. In the skipjack ovaries, the lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) proportion for the phospholipid, the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) percentage for the total fatty acids of the phospholipids and the PLA₁ activity of the crude enzyme were the highest among those of the seven species. The optimum pH and temperature for the PLA₁ activity of the crude enzyme from the skipjack ovaries were in the range of pH 6–7 and 20–30°C, respectively, and calcium ions were not required. As a substrate, phosphatidylcholine was more easily hydrolyzed than phosphatidylethanolamine by this enzyme, and the plasmalogen-type phospholipid was much lower than the acyl-type phospholipid. After a 6-h hydrolysis reaction of the purified phospholipid extracted from the mixed ovaries of skipjack and yellowfin tuna by this enzyme, the LPC ratio of the phospholipid increased from 20 to 72.6% and the percentage of DHA for the total fatty acids of the phospholipid also increased. Thus, skipjack ovaries might possibly be used as a source of PLA₁.     

Effects of dietary lipids on the fatty acid composition of triglycerides and phospholipids in tissues of white sturgeon

Eight purified diets were fed to juvenile white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus Rick, for 9 weeks to investigate the effect of dietary lipids on the fatty acid composition of phospholipids and triglycerides from muscle, liver and brain. The diets contained 150 g kg^?1 of oils from canola, corn, cod liver, lard, linseed, soybean, safflower, or a control mixture (corn oil/cod liver oil/lard, 1:1:1, by wt). Dietary lipids significantly (P≤ 05) affected the composition of tissue triglycerides and phospholipids. Tissue triglyceride fatty acid composition ranged widely, in parallel with the dietary lipids, while phospholipids changes were more conservative. Brain phospholipid fatty acid composition was less responsive to diet compared with that in muscle and liver. Considerable amounts of n-6 and n-3 long chain polyun-saturated fatty acids (> C₂₀) were found in triglycerides and phospholipids with all diets, demonstrating that white sturgeon can desaturate and elongate linoleic acid (18:2n–6) and linolenic acid (18:3n–3). Further, the products of the Δ6 desaturase, i.e. 18:3 n–6 and 18:4n–3, were relatively abundant in triglyceride, suggesting that the Δ6 desaturase might not be a limiting step in the process in white sturgeon. Nevertheless, accumulation of both EPA and DHA was greater in the sturgeon fed fish oil than those fed linseed oil, indicating that muscle triglyceride EPA and DHA levels are best enhanced by diets rich in preformed EPA and DHA.     

Egg quality determination based on the shape of the lipid vesicle in common dentex, Dentex dentex

The shape of the lipid vesicle (the ratio between the maximal and the minimal diameter and the shape coefficient) of the eggs of Diplodus puntazzo and Sparus aurata is correlated with larval survival rate (%) and can be used as an egg quality marker as reported previously by Lahnsteiner and Patarnello (2005) . In the present study, this method for egg quality determination has also been validated for common dentex, Dentex dentex, after introducing several modifications in the calculation and evaluation procedure in order to obtain higher sensitivity. In the present study, it could be demonstrated that the shape of the lipid vesicle is not only correlated with the hatching rate but also with the survival rate of 1, 2 and 3 days post hatch larvae and therefore it can also be used as an indicator of larval viability at early stages of development.     

Lipid characterization of both wild and cultured eggs of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis L.) throughout the embryonic development

The present work reports a characterization of mean wet weight and moisture, the lipid class and fatty acid (FA) composition from the total lipids (TL), of both culture and wild eggs of the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis , throughout the embryonic development. Additionally, reproductive data, such as the number of spawnings, number and mean weight of eggs and duration of spawning period of cultured cuttlefish is provided. Both types of eggs were similar in mean wet weight, moisture content, TL content and lipid composition throughout embryonic development. Females from the cultured group spawned 13 times and laid 8654 eggs in 64 days, with a mean weight of 0.607 ± 0.179 g. A sex ratio of 1.57 (11♀ for 7♂) promoted an individual fecundity of 787 eggs/♀ (the biggest until now on our culture facilities), which might be related to increased bottom areas. The TL increased with day/stage of embryonic development ( P  < 0.05) only in the cultured egg group. However, no differences were found on TL between culture and wild eggs at the same day/stage ( P  > 0.05). Eggs displayed predominant levels of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), cholesterol and triacylglycerol at the end of embryonic development. Polar and neutral lipids of both eggs groups remained consistently proportional (∼50% for each lipid fraction) and a significant increase ( P  < 0.05) was observed in phosphatidylserine, PE and free FA throughout the embryonic development. In either egg type and day, 16:0, 18:0, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 accounted for approximately 70 g Kg⁻¹ of all FA and saturated and n-3 totals seemed to have the same proportion in the cuttlefish eggs. The present results suggest that lipids are not used as energetic substrate but as structural components in cuttlefish egg.