Antioxidant status and immunity in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., fed semi‐purified diets with and without astaxanthin supplementation

Abstract

. Parr of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., were fed semi‐purified diets supplemented with 60 mg astaxanthin kg−1 and without astaxanthin supplementation for 10.5 months. The astaxanthin concentration in the non‐supplemented diet was analysed to be 6–0 mg kg−1 The growth of the fish was significantly affected by the dietary treatment. The mean daily weight gain in the groups fed the supplemented diets was 0.39% throughout the period, whereas the groups fed the non‐supplemented diet had a mean daily weight gain of 0.18%. The dry matter and fat content were significantly higher in fish fed the supplemented diet. The astaxanthin concentration in the muscle of fish fed the astaxanthin‐supplemented diet was 2–7 mg kg−1 versus 0–3 mg kg−1 in the non‐supplemented fish. Antioxidant vitamins in the muscle (retinol, α‐tocopherol) and liver (retinol, α‐tocopherol and ascorbic acid) were two to 20 times higher in the fish in the supplemented group, suggesting antioxidant sparing effects. Blood haemoglobin and immunological parameters tended to be higher in fish fed the low astaxanthin diet although the difference was not significant. However, the resistance to challenge with Aeromonas salmonicida was higher in fish fed the astaxanthin supplemented diet. This may be due to a difference in weight at the time of the challenge which, in turn, may have influenced the body composition and smoltification of the fish. A relationship between dietary astaxanthin concentration and antioxidant status in both liver and muscle was observed, and this may also have had an influence on the observed differences in blood parameters and disease resistance.

Different Dietary Levels of Protein to Lipid Ratio Affected Digestive Efficiency, Skeletal Growth, and Muscle Protein in Rainbow Trout Families

“…[20,[28][29][30]. The protein concentration of the standards was determined using TRIzol reagent (Life Technologies, NY, USA) to obtain complete solubilisation of protein, as described in RungruangsakTorrissen [11] modified from Sunde et al [10,18].…”

Quantitative genetic architecture of parasite-induced cataract in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

“…Carotenoids are deposited in the flesh and give the orange colour in the family Salmonidae. Owing to their antioxidant and immune-enhancing activity they also provide the physiological mechanism for a potential relationship between resistance/tolerance and flesh colour (Christiansen et al, 1995). Because carotenoids deposited in flesh or skin are away from immunological functions (Blount, 2004) we investigated whether there is a trade-off between carotenoid allocation to flesh colouration and cataract severity.…”

Efecto del suplemento de astaxantina sobre la calidad seminal en Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae (Teleostei: Characidae)

“…Por otro lado, se ha demostrado que las concentraciones de vitaminas antioxidantes A, E y C, se incrementan significativamente en peces alimentados con una dieta suplementada con astaxantina (Christiansen et al, 1995). De acuerdo a lo anterior, la astaxantina es un precursor natural de la vitamina A, que se ha relacionado con el aumento en la respuesta inmune en teleósteos (Thompson et al, 1995).…”

“…Probablemente debido a la reducción del daño en las membranas celulares, en el material genético, y en la regulación de la esteroidogénesis en los testículos (Christiansen et al, 1995;Meyers, 2000). La concentración de espermatozoides es uno de los parámetros más útiles en la evaluación de la calidad seminal de los teleósteos y con mayor trascendencia práctica en las granjas piscícolas (Rurangwa et al, 2004).…”

“…No obstante que el porcentaje de viabilidad fue menor en el grupo de astaxantina, no se detectaron diferencias significativas, con respecto al grupo control. Lo anterior sugiere que la astaxantina puede actuar a nivel de la espermatogénesis (en los tejidos epiteliales y células somáticas) y en las regulaciones endócrinas de este proceso, y no sobre la viabilidad de los espermatozoides per se (Gómes et al, 1977;Chinoy et al, 1986;Christiansen et al, 1995).…”