Abstract
Swimming performance was measured in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, L.) fed one of four isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets, in which the supplemental lipid (25% of diet) originated either solely from menhaden oil (rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 series; n-3 HUFA), or from different proportions of this oil and canola oil (rich in 18-carbon unsaturated fatty acids).
The results indicate that dietary fatty acid composition influenced swimming performance in Atlantic salmon through changes in maximum swimming speed (Ucrit). Salmon fed a diet in which menhaden oil furnished all of the supplemental lipid had a significantly lower Ucrit than those fed a diet in which the supplemental lipid was an equal blend of menhaden and canola oil. Furthermore, there was a highly significant linear relationship between dietary and/or muscle levels of particular fatty acids or groups of fatty acids and Ucrit.
There was a negative relationship between dietary n-3 HUFA content and Ucrit, but there was no relationship between Ucrit and muscle n-3 HUFA content nor between Ucrit and the levels of the eicosanoids thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin, or of their ratio, in the heart and gills of fatigued salmon. These results indicate that the differences in exercise performance were not a result of differences in n-3 HUFA metabolism amongst the dietary groups.
Indeed, although there was a highly significant positive relationship between Ucrit and total n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio of muscle lipids, this was largely due to the associated positive relationship between Ucrit and content of the most common n-6 fatty acid in muscle lipids, linoleic acid. There was also a significant positive relationship between content in muscle lipids of the most prominent fatty acid in canola oil, oleic acid, and Ucrit. It is suggested that metabolism of these 18-carbon unsaturated fatty acids accounts for the effects of the diets on exercise performance.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abeywardena, M.Y., McLennan, P.L. and Charnock, J.S. 1991. Differential effects of dietary fish oil on myocardial prostaglandin I2 and thromboxane A2 production. Am. J. Physiol. 260: H379-385.
Agnisola, C., McKenzie, D.J., Taylor, E.W., Bolis, C.L. and Tota, B. 1996. Cardiac performance in relation to oxygen supply varies with dietary lipid composition in sturgeon. Am. J. Physiol. 271: R417-R425.
Anderson, J.S., Higgs, D.A., Beames, R.M. and Rowshandeli, M. 1996. The effect of varying the dietary digestible protein to digestible lipid ratio on the growth and whole body composition of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (0.5-1.2 Kg) reared in seawater. Can Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2104: 20p.
Beamish, F.W.H., Howlett, J.C. and Medland, T.E. 1989. Impact of diet on metabolism and swimming performance in juvenile Lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46: 384-388
Bell, J.G., McVicar, A.H., Park, M. and Sargent, J.R. 1991. High dietary linoleic acid affects fatty acid compositions of individual phospholipids from tissues of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): association with stress susceptibility and cardiac lesion. J. Nutr. 121: 1163-1172.
Bell, J.G., Dick, J.R. and Sargent, J.R. 1993. Effect of diets enriched in linoleic or α-linolenic acid on phosholipid composition and eicosanoid production in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Lipids 28: 819-826.
Brett, J.R. 1964. The respiratory metabolism and swimming performance of young sockeye salmon. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 21: 1183-1226.
Brown, J.A., Gray, C.J., Hattersley, G. and Robinson, J. 1991. Prostaglandins in the kidney, urinary bladder and gills of the Rainbow trout and European eel adapted to freshwater and seawater. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol. 84: 328-335.
Charnock, J.S., McLennan, P.L. and Abeywardena, M.Y. 1992. Dietary modulation of lipid metabolism and mechanical performance of the heart. Mol. Cell. Biochem. 116: 19-25.
Dosanjh, B.S., Higgs, D.A., McKenzie, D.J., Randall, D.J., Eales, J.G., Rowshandeli, N., Rowshandeli, M. and Deacon, G. 1997. Influence of dietary blends of menhaden oil and canola oil on growth, muscle lipid composition and thyroidal status of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in seawater. Fish Physiol. Biochem. (In press).
Egginton, S. 1986. Metamorphosis of the American eel Anguilla rostrata Le Seur: 1. Changes in metabolism of skeletal muscle. J. Exp. Zool. 237: 173-184.
Egginton, S. 1996. Effect of temperature on optimal substrate for β-oxidation. J. Fish Biol. 49: 753-758.
Ellis, E.F., Police, R.J., Dodson, L.Y. McKinney, J.S. and Holt, S.A. 1992. Effect of dietary n-3 fatty acids on cerebral microcirculation. Am. J. Physiol. 262: H1379-1386.
Fitzgerald, G.A. 1993. Omega-3 fatty acids and vascular function. Omega-3 News 9: 1-3.
Gherke, P.C., Fidler, L.E., Mense, D.C. and Randall, D.J. 1990. A respirometer with controlled water quality and computerised data acquisition for experiments with swimming fish. Fish Physiol. Biochem. 8: 61-67.
Henderson, R.J. and Sargent, J.R. 1985. Chain-length specificities of mitochondrial and peroxisomal β-oxidation of fatty acids in livers of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 82B: 79-85.
Henderson, R.J. and Tocher, D.R. 1987. The lipid composition and biochemistry of freshwater fish. Prog. Lipid Res. 26: 281-347.
Hochachka, P.W. and Somero, G.N. 1984. Biochemical Adaptation. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Hock, C.E., Beck, L.D., Bodine, R.C. and Reibel, D.K. 1990. Influence of dietary fatty acids on myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. Am. J. Physiol. 259: H1518-1526.
Kiessling, A., Higgs, D.A., Dosanjh, B.S. and Eales, J.G. 1994. Influence of sustained exercise at two ration levels on growth and thyroid function of all-female chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in sea water. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51: 1975-1984.
Lands, W.E.M. 1991. Biosynthesis of prostaglandins. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 11: 41-60.
McKenzie, D.J., Piraccini, G., Steffensen, J.F., Bolis, C.L., Bronzi, P. and Taylor, E.W. 1995. Effects of diet on spontaneous locomotor activity and oxygen consumption in Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii). Fish Physiol. Biochem. 14: 341-355.
McKenzie, D.J., Serrini, G., Piraccini, G., Bronzi, P. and Bolis, C.L. 1996. Effects of diet on responses to exhaustive exercise in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica) acclimated to three different temperatures. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 114A: 43-50
McKenzie, D.J., Piraccini, G., Papini, N., Galli, C., Bronzi, P., Bolis, C.G. and Taylor, E.W. 1997. Oxygen consumption and ventilatory reflex responses are influenced by dietary lipids in sturgeon. Fish Physiol. Biochem. 16: 365-379.
Paulson, D.J., Smith, J.M., Zhao, J. and Bowman, J. 1992. Effects of dietary fish oil on myocardial ischaemic/reperfusion injury of Wistar Kyoto and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. Metabolism 41: 533-539.
Powell, W.S. 1982. Rapid extraction of arachidonic acid metabolites from biological samples using octadecyl silica. Meth. Enzymol. 86: 467-477.
Sidell, B.D. and Driedzic, W.R. 1985. Relationship between cardiac energy metabolism and cardiac work demand in fishes. In Circulation, Respiration and Metabolism. pp. 381-401. Edited by R. Gilles. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Sidell, B.D., Crockett, E.L. and Driedzic, W.R. 1995. Antartic fish tissues preferentially catabolize monenoic fatty acids. J. Exp. Zool. 271: 73-81.
Watanabe, T. 1982. Lipid nutrition in fish. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 73B: 3-15.
Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis (second ed.). Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McKenzie, D., Higgs, D., Dosanjh, B. et al. Dietary fatty acid composition influences swimming performance in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in seawater. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 19, 111–122 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007779619087
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007779619087