Bioactive roles of carotenoids and retinoids in crustaceans

Abstract

Among the proposed functions of carotenoids in aquaculture have been those of pigmentation, antioxidant functions, as a source of pro‐vitamin A, cellular protection from photodynamic damage, enhancement of growth and reproductive potential. However results reported by various authors are often contradictory. Some evidence suggests that these pigments may perform vital roles in growth and reproductive success in Crustaceans. Additional efforts need to be devoted to the understanding of the active forms of the carotenoid derived metabolites, retinoids in crustaceans. Dietary carotenoids are the sole biological precursors of retinoids in crustaceans. The importance of carotenoids as bioactive molecules reside to a large degree on their conversion to retinoids that are involved in the activation of hormonal nuclear receptors. Retinoids play a prominent role in many developmental processes, including embryonic development and differentiation of various cell types. The presence of receptors of retinoic acid in crustaceans and our findings of retinoids in the neuroendocrine complex and in reproductive tissue, as well as the enhancement of the ovarian development in shrimp suggests an important role of these metabolites in shrimp physiology for their successful aquaculture.

Resíduos do beneficiamento do camarão cultivado: obtenção de pigmentos carotenóides

“…A revisão realizada por LIÑÁN-CABELLO et al 11 revela que em ovários de crustáceos (camarões e caranguejo), o conteúdo de carotenóides totais varia de 0,7 a 3,6 mg.100 g -1 de amostra úmida, valores estes de acordo com aqueles apresentados na Tabela 2. Todavia, valores extremamente elevados foram relatados por ARREDONDO-FIGUEROA et al 1 , no músculo abdominal (0,82%) e no exoesqueleto (4,1%) de L. vannamei.…”

Pigmentation and spectral absorbance in the deep-sea arctic amphipods Eurythenes gryllus and Anonyx sp.

“…Species-specific differences in metabolic pathways could be another explanation for changes in pigment composition between stages of body size, which causes one carotenoid to synthesize into another, as for example, b,b-carotene into astaxanthin, a well-known pathway in Crustacea (Tanaka et al 1976;Berticat et al 2000;Gaillard et al 2004). Changes related to reproduction may also be likely, as carotenoids have been connected to several biological processes (Gilchrist and Lee 1972;Berticat et al 2000;Liñán-Cabello et al 2002) that could lead to changes in carotenoid composition between immature and mature females. Hargrave et al (1994) suggested that due to increasing gonad volume taking up internal body volume during sexual maturation and breeding, feeding may actually be impossible in mature female amphipods.…”

Effects of Season, Size and Parasitism by the Acanthocephalan, Profilicollis altmani, on the Carotenoid Concentration and Composition of the Pacific Mole Crab, Emerita analoga

“…Carotenoids may play additional roles in stimulating the immune system, increasing stress tolerance, and enhancing embryonic and gonadal development in crustaceans (Olson 1993, Menasveta et al 1994, Mantiri et al 1995. Though compelling, most of these functions must still be supported by additional data (Linan-Cabello et al 2002). In many species, carotenoids are deposited into egg yolk and reproductive tissues, and may enhance the quality of offspring (Safran et al 2008).…”