Antioxidant status and nonspecific immune responses in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed two levels of vitamin E along with three lipid sources

doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2003.11.026

Aquaculture

Volume 234, Issues 1–4, 3 May 2004, Pages 361-379

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2003.11.026 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the effects of dietary vitamin E on antioxidant status and nonspecific immune responses of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed different lipids. Six semi-purified diets containing three lipid sources: pollock liver oil (PO), linseed oil (LO) and safflower oil (SO), each in combination with two levels of vitamin E (100 and 1000 mg α-tocopheryl acetate kg⁻¹ diet), were fed to duplicate groups of 17 g fish for 9 weeks. The growth performances were significantly greater in the PO and LO groups compared to the SO fed fish, irrespective of vitamin E content. The hematocrit (Hct) values were also higher in the PO and LO fed fish suggesting that n−3 fatty acids in these oils were more involved in erythropoiesis. The red blood cells (RBCs) were less fragile in fish fed PO diets, regardless of vitamin E levels. The hydroperoxide content in red blood cells and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in plasma were slightly higher in fish fed 1000 mg vitamin E kg⁻¹ diet suggesting that the antioxidant capacity of the vitamin at the high level was not evident compared to that at the lower level. On the other hand, only minor modulations of the immune responses related to vitamin E were observed for the three lipid groups. The total immunoglobulin (Ig) and phagocyte activity were lower while serum alternative complement and lysozyme activities, and the production of reactive oxygen species by head kidney leucocytes were higher in fish fed the higher amount of vitamin E. Although most of results in this study were not statistically significant, the prooxidant tendency of vitamin E observed at the high dose has to be examined carefully in relation to health of fish.

Introduction

The exact requirement of fish for vitamin E is known to depend on the amount and type of dietary lipid, especially the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) Woodall et al., 1964, Watanabe et al., 1970. Since the PUFA are susceptible to oxidation and the resulting products may be toxic to the cells (Halliwell and Chirico, 1993), an elevation in their dietary levels can invoke an increased requirement of vitamin E as intracellular antioxidants to protect the lipid from oxidation. Besides this function, the high supplementation of vitamin E also has been reported to enhance immune responses of fish (Ortuño et al., 2000). Therefore, an alternation in dietary lipid supplementation should affect the mode of action of vitamin E on both antioxidant status and immune defenses and eventually the health of fish.

Most of the studies on the above-mentioned topics have been conducted using fish oil as a lipid source because it is ideal for its essential fatty acid (EFA) especially n−3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n−3 HUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They have seldom considered the alternative vegetable lipid sources such as linseed and safflower oils, which have been reported to be effective in fish feeds Stickney and Andrews, 1972, Greene and Selivonchick, 1990. However, since the significance of partly replacing fish oil in aquatic diets has been recognized, it would be important to consider the effects of vitamin E when lipids from plant sources are fed. Linseed oil is rich in n−3 PUFA (α-linolenic acid) while the safflower oil contains large amounts of n−6 PUFA (linoleic acid). In rat, no evidence of vitamin E deficiency or of an increased vitamin E requirement was observed when vegetable oil rich in PUFA were fed at a level of 30% in the diet (Alfin-Slater et al., 1972). However, similar information is not available in fish.

Therefore, this experiment was designed to examine the effects of dietary vitamin E on growth, diet utilization, antioxidant status and nonspecific immune responses in rainbow trout fed different oils varying in fatty acid type: pollock liver oil as n−3 HUFA source, linseed oil as n−3 PUFA source and safflower oil as n−6 PUFA source.

Section snippets

Experimental fish

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry obtained from Fuji trout hatchery of the Shizuoka Prefecture Fisheries Experimental Station were transported to the rearing facilities of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. They were maintained for 6 months in a flow-through system with temperature regulated at 15±2 °C. Initially the fish were fed a commercial diet (Nippon Formula Feed, Yokohama, Japan) and thereafter switched to an essential fatty acid–vitamin E-deficient diet for 2

Growth and diet utilization

Increasing the vitamin E supplementation level did not result in any significant improvement on growth or diet utilization, however, the effects of different lipid sources were evident (Table 3). The weight gain, specific growth rate and feed gain ratio were significantly lower in fish fed SO diets compared to PO diets. The PO diet groups also performed better compared to LO, although they were not statistically significant.

Vitamin E content in plasma and liver

VE contents (α-tocopherol) in the plasma and liver increased

Growth and diet utilization

In this study, there was no significant benefit of using the higher level of vitamin E (1000 mg kg⁻¹ diet) on growth and diet utilization as shown in Table 3. This result confirmed the findings of Boggio et al. (1985) that no difference occurred in the weight gain of fish fed diets containing either fish oil or swine fat and supplemented with 0, 50, 500, or 1500 mg α-tocopheryl acetate kg⁻¹ diet. Considering the effect of dietary lipid sources, the gain in weight and diet utilization indicated

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Fuji Trout Hatchery of Shizuoka Prefecture Fisheries Experiment Station for providing the rainbow trout fry. This work was supported partly by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

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Antioxidant status and nonspecific immune responses in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed two levels of vitamin E along with three lipid sources

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Experimental fish

Growth and diet utilization

Vitamin E content in plasma and liver

Growth and diet utilization

Acknowledgements

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Methods Enzymol.

Comp. Biochem. Physiol.

Aquaculture

Dev. Comp. Immunol.

Fish Shellfish Immunol.

J. Biol. Chem.

J. Biol. Chem.

Aquaculture

Dev. Comp. Immunol.

Am. J. Clin. Nutr.

J. Lipid Res.

J. Nutr.

J. Dairy Sci.

J. Nutr.

J. Nutr.

Fish Shellfish Immunol.

Mar. Environ. Res.

Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol.

J. Nutr.

Dietary pigmentation and deposition of α-tocopherol and carotenoids in rainbow trout muscle and liver tissue

J. Food Sci.

Dietary fat composition and tocopherol requirement: III. Quantitative studies in the relationship between dietary linoleate and vitamin E

J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc.