Altered fatty acid compositions in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed diets containing linseed and rapeseed oils can be partially restored by a subsequent fish oil finishing diet

Citation

Bell JG, Tocher DR, Henderson RJ, Dick JR & Crampton V (2003) Altered fatty acid compositions in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed diets containing linseed and rapeseed oils can be partially restored by a subsequent fish oil finishing diet. Journal of Nutrition, 133 (9), pp. 2793-2801. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/9/2793.abstract

Abstract
Atlantic salmon post-smolts were fed ten experimental diets containing various blends of two vegetable oils, linseed (LO) and rapeseed oil (RO), and fish oil (FO) in a triangular trial design, for 50 weeks. After sampling, fish previously fed 100% FO, LO and RO were switched to a diet containing 100% FO and grown on for a further 20 weeks. Fatty acid compositions of flesh total lipid were linearly correlated with dietary fatty acid compositions (r = 0.99-1.00, P < 0.0001). Inclusion of vegetable oil at 33% of total oil resulted in a reduction in the concentrations of the highly unsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoate [20:5(n-3)] and docosahexaenoate [22:6(n-3)], to around 70 and 75%, respectively, of the values in fish fed 100% FO. When vegetable oil was included at 100% of total dietary lipid the concentrations of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) were reduced to around 30% and 36%, respectively, of the values in fish fed FO. Transfer of fish previously fed 100% vegetable oil to a 100% FO diet for 20 weeks, restored the concentrations of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) to around 80% of the value in fish fed 100% FO for 70 weeks. However, concentrations of 18:2(n-6) remained about 1.5-fold higher, compared to fish fed 100% FO, in fish previously fed either 100% LO or RO. This study suggests that RO and LO can be used successfully to culture salmon through the seawater phase of their growth cycle although this will result in reductions in flesh 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) concentrations that can be partially restored by resuming a diet containing only marine FO for a period prior to harvest.

Keywords
Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar; Fish oil; Vegetable oil; Linseed oil; Rapeseed oil; Mixture design; Growth rate; Flesh; Lipid and fatty acid composition; Finishing diet; Atlantic salmon; Lipids in nutrition; Fishes Nutrition; Dietary supplements; Fishes Feeding and feeds

Journal
Journal of Nutrition: Volume 133, Issue 9

People

Professor Gordon Bell

Emeritus Professor, Institute of Aquaculture

Mr James Dick

Technical Manager