Can enzymatic antioxidant defences in liver discriminate between wild and sea cage-reared Bluefin Tuna quality?

Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus L.) is a fish species of high nutritional and commercial value that is increasingly farmed in the Mediterranean basin. Oxidative stress research in aquaculture is particularly important in the assessment of both the health of farmed fish and seafood quality. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are able to start the lipid peroxidation process which is potentially dangerous in fish, since they contain a high percentage of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, in particular C20:5 n-3 and C22:6 n-3, which account for most of seafood's nutritional quality. The study of the antioxidant system and how the various components interact to delay post-harvest lipid peroxidation covers both the improvement of quality and the extension of shelf life of the fresh tuna product.In this study, hepatic antioxidant enzymes (catalase—CAT, superoxide dismutase—SOD and glutathione peroxidase—GPx) and lipid peroxidation levels (TBARS) of wild and sea cage-reared tunas were investigated. The aim was to examine the possible oxidative stress state of wild tunas killed by different fishing methods, compared with reared specimens exposed to different periods of confinement but killed by the same method.No significant differences between wild specimens were found in relation to catching techniques. A significant depletion was observed in liver SOD activity in reared tunas (5.00 U/mg protein) in comparison with wild specimens (5.90 U/mg protein). No differences in liver CAT activity between wild and reared tunas were found. In reared specimens we observed an oxidative stress state indicated by an increase in GPx activity (104.70 U/mg protein and 0.83 U/mg protein in reared and wild tunas, respectively). A significantly higher liver lipid content was observed in reared tunas, but no significant differences between wild and reared tunas in terms of TBA reactive substances content were found (2.03 vs 2.02 micromol TBARS/mg lipid). Our results suggest that the increased GPx activity leads to the suppression of lipid peroxidation in liver of reared tunas. This is the first time that antioxidant enzyme activities have been assayed in Bluefin Tuna and the stress state seems to be related to the diet of reared specimens rather than to their confinement, as indicated by the absence of differences in the antioxidant activities related to the period of confinement.