Aquaculture International

, Volume 20, Issue 2, pp 255–281 | Cite as

Effects of dietary vegetable oils on liver and gonad fatty acid metabolism and gonad maturation in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) males and females

  • Elham A. Wassef
  • Olfat M. Wahbi
  • Shaymaa H. Shalaby
Article
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Abstract

A 20-week growth trial was conducted to investigate the effect of two dietary blended vegetable oils (VO) on liver lipogenic enzyme activity, liver and gonad lipid class composition and fatty acid profiles, serum sex hormones, and gonad morphohistology in gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata. Three groups of fish (BW i 130.9 ± 3.1 g) were fed, close to satiation, three experimental diets: a control (CTRL) contained fish oil (FO) as the sole lipid source (100% FO) and two VO-blended diets in each 60% of FO was substituted by an equal mixture of cottonseed oil (CO), sunflower oil (SFO) and either linseed oil (LO) or soybean oil (SBO), designated as LO or SBO diet, respectively. Each diet was assigned to triplicate groups of fish. Results showed that all dietary treatments presented no significant (P > 0.05) differences in growth rate and feed conversion ratio for sexes combined. Enzyme activities of liver lipogenic enzymes of LO-fed fish (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), malic enzyme (ME) and fatty acid synthetase (FAS)) were not statistically (P > 0.05) different from those of CTRL fish. Only in the group of fish fed the SBO diet, G6PDH was slightly higher (P < 0.05) for both sexes, while ME showed a significant (P < 0.05) higher activity only in females relative to CTRL fish. Liver FAS enzyme activity remained unaltered among dietary groups. VO-fed fish recorded a significant (P < 0.05) increase in total lipid (TL) and triglyceride (TAG) contents in both liver and gonad, more pronounced in females than in males, concurrent with a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in cholesterol (CHL) and phospholipids (PL), more obvious for the SBO-fed fish, as compared to CTRL. The fatty acid (FA) composition of liver or gonad reflected that of the supplied diet and evidenced a significant (P < 0.01 or <0.05) alteration in the majority of individual FA in VO-fed fish compared to CTRL. There were decreased levels of ARA (20:4 n-6), EPA (20:5 n-3), and DHA (22:6 n-3) in VO-fed fish, more pronounced in females than in males, compared to CTRL. The liver and gonad FA profiles, for males and females, reflected the composition of the diet and showed sex variation in the output of multivariate principal component analysis (PCA). Feeding fish VO diets has also led to a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in serum estradiol level by 15.8 or 22.3% in LO- or SBO-fed fish, respectively, and in testosterone level by 7.7% in the latter dietary group only compared to the CTRL. Histomorphological examination of ovary and testis has indicated a relative retardation in oogenesis and spermatogenesis in VO-fed fish, less obvious in the LO-fed fish compared to CTRL. These results suggest a preference of LO over SBO blend diet in terms of liver lipogenic enzyme activity, liver and gonad lipid content, lipid class composition and fatty acid profile, serum sex hormones as well as gonad maturation. PCA analysis of gonads highlighted the importance of using a 100% marine FO diet for gilthead seabream broodstock for the recovery of a normal FA profile in gonads of fish, previously fed VO over the production cycle, to ensure successful spawning.

Keywords

Gilthead seabream Linseed oil Soybean oil Liver lipogenic enzymes Lipid classes Sex hormones Gonad histology 

Abbreviations

FO

Fish oil

VO

Vegetable oil

CO

Cottonseed oil

SFO

Sunflower oil

LO

Linseed oil

SBO

Soybean oil

CTRL

Control

TL

Total lipids

FA

Fatty acids

SFA

Saturated fatty acids

MUFA

Monounsaturated fatty acids

PUFA

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

HUFA

Highly unsaturated fatty acids

ARA

Arachidonic acid

EPA

Eicosapentaenoic acid

DHA

Docosahexaenoic acid

LA

Linoleic acid

LNA

Linolenic acid

OA

Oleic acid

PGs

Prostaglandins

TAG

Triglycerides

PL

Phospholipids

CHL

Cholesterol

TLC

Thin-layer chromatography

GLC

Gas liquid chromatography

FAME

Fatty acid methyl ester

G6PDH

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme

ME

Malic enzyme

FAS

Fatty acid synthetase

H and E

Hematoxylin and eosin

A and B

Spermatogonia

C

Primary spermatocytes

D

Secondary spermatocytes

E

Spermatids

PO

Perinucleolus oocyte

CA

Cortical alveoli

PY

Primary yolk oocytes

SY

Secondary yolk oocytes

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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Dr Fady R. Mickaeel, Fish Nutrition Laboratory, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, for the help he kindly offered in the statistical analysis of data. Sincere thanks are also due to this article reviewer for his valuable comments that greatly helped in improving the final presentation.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Elham A. Wassef
    • 1
  • Olfat M. Wahbi
    • 2
  • Shaymaa H. Shalaby
    • 1
  1. 1.Fish Nutrition LaboratoryNational Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF)AlexandriaEgypt
  2. 2.Fish Reproduction LaboratoryNational Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF)AlexandriaEgypt

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