Fatty acids profile of malaysian praws (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) post larvae feed diets with linseed and tomato by-product meal

Abstract

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the performance and fatty acids composition of Malaysian prawn feed diets without and with linseed and/or tomato by-product meal. Four hundred and eighty prawn (1.08 ± 0.05 g) were distributed in 16 net tanks (0.12 m³ each one) into four tanks with 1,000 L each. Diets with 40% of crude protein and 4,200 kcal of digestible energy/kg of diet, without or with 15% of linseed, 15% of tomato by-product meal and 7.5% of linseed and 7.5% of tomato by-product meal were evaluated. At the end of the experiment all prawns were used for performance determination and body fatty acids composition. No difference on performance was observed. It was observed a reduction in linoleic acid, n-6 sum and relation n-6/n-3 in the prawn body composition fed test diets. It was observed an increase in the n-3 sum in the body composition of prawn fed diet with linseed meal. It was demonstrated that the linolenic acid originated from linseed meal is incorporated in the prawn muscle in primary form without enzymatic modifications for EPA and DHA formation. It was concluded that the linseed and tomato by-product utilization meal do not affect the prawn performance, but improve the n-6/n-3 relation and the fatty acids pattern in the prawn body for human consumption.