Lipid and n-3 requirement of Sparus aurata larvae during starvation and feeding

W. M. Koven, G. Wm Kissil, A. Tandler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

115 Scopus citations

Abstract

The n-3 fatty acids and the lipid class requirement of larval Sparus aurata were studied by comparing patterns of conservation and loss of lipid levels and their content of selected fatty acid groups in starved (for 6 days) and feeding (fed 17 days on Isochrysis enriched rotifers) larvae. There was a marked decrease in the neutral fraction while the reduction in the polar fraction was more moderate in both feeding and starved larvae. In starved fish the pattern of fatty acid loss (percent decrease in μg/mg of dry weight larvae) in the total, neutral and polar fractions was expressed as n-6 > n-9 > n-3. However, the polar lipid in fed fish exhibited a reverse trend that can be described as n-3 > n-9 > n-6. Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3) was also observed to be more strongly conserved than eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3) during starvation but more drawn upon in feeding. The results suggest a larval biochemical strategy to conserve the important n-3 fatty acids during starvation. However, their loss during feeding implies that Isochrysis-enriched rotifers do not provide sufficient levels of these fatty acids for growing Sparus aurata larvae.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)185-191
Number of pages7
JournalAquaculture
Volume79
Issue number1-4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1989
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Aquatic Science

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