Feed efficiency, nutrient retention and body composition of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L., fed diets containing L-ascorbic acid, L-ascorbyl-2-sulphate or L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate

Seven purified diets were formulated and fed to seven groups of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L., fingerlings for 12 weeks. Six of the formulated diets contained 5 or 50 mg kg^?1 of ascorbic acid equivalent supplied by either L-ascorbic acid (AA), L-ascorbyl-2-sulphate (AS) or L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (APP). The seventh basal diet was ascorbate-free and served as the control. The results of diet analysis for ascorbic acid showed that it was not detected or negligible in the control diet and in the diets containing AA at the end of the experiment, whereas there was no loss of ascorbic acid from diets prepared with AS or APP. The results demonstrated that the feed efficiency and growth parameters in fish fed APP-5, AS-5, AA-5 or AA-50 diets were statistically similar to the same parameters in fish fed the control diet. The study indicated that diets supplemented with 5 or 50 mg kg^?1 ascorbic acid in the form of APP or AS were more effectively utilized as sources of vitamin C than equimolar AA in promoting growth, improving food efficiency, increasing nutrient retention and preventing scurvy in Nile tilapia. Fish fed the ascorbate-free diet and the diet containing 5 mg AA kg^?1 exhibited external signs of scurvy during the last growth period of the experiment. Diets containing 5 mg kg^?1 of ascorbic acid from AS or APP provided some growth with no overt signs of scurvy, indicating that this concentration of AS and APP might be near the minimum requirement for the species. The APP-50 diet was the most efficient, and significantly (P < 0.05), had the lowest value of the amount of dietary protein necessary for 100 g weight gain (dietary protein index, DPI), the highest values of feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and the highest values of nutrient retention, i.e. protein (PRV), fat (FRV), ash (ARV) and gross energy (ERV) compared to the other diets. Fish that received the APP-50 diet had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher weight and protein gains in tissues than the other fish groups. The increase in the feed efficiency and growth parameter values in fish receiving the APP-50 diet compared with the values for the same parameters in the AA-50 diet were calculated as percentages, and the results were: weight gain, 36.2%; protein gain, 40.9%; FCE, 53.3%; PRV, 58.1%; FRV, 34.9%; ARV, 57.4%; and ERV, 51.9%. The diet containing APP-50 was followed in order by the AS-50 diet. The AS-50 diet had statistically comparable (P > 0.05) values of weight gain, protein gain and FRV to the APP-50 diet. The increased feed efficiency and growth parameters values of fish receiving the AS-50 diet compared with the AA-50 diet were calculated as percentages, and the results were: weight gain, 2 7.9%; protein gain, 27.9%; FCE, 18.2%; PRV, 17.9%; FRV, 19.2%; ARV, 8.9%; and ERV, 18.2%. There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences between the groups in the percentages of moisture, protein and ash in whole fish at the end of the study, whereas lipid percentages were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in all the tested groups in comparison with the control fish. Increasing the level of ascorbic acid equivalent from 5 to 50 mg kg^?1 diet from APP, AS or AA reduced the percentage of fat in Nile tilapia bodies. These results indicate that all the tested vitamin C sources were effective in inducing lipolysis in Nile tilapia tissues.