Biochemical analysis of bullfrog liver and blood: insights into growth and development

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the productive and physiological performance of bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) after metamorphosis, through zootechnical growth parameters and the quantification of proteins and enzymes present in the liver. In addition we observed the behavior of circulating amino acids in the blood. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Station of the Aquaculture, APTA Regional – SAA, in São Paulo, Brazil. We used 400 L. catesbeianus froglets weighing 5.76±1.32g, which were distributed in four fattening tanks in the wet system, installed under an agricultural greenhouse at density of 51 frogs/m². The animals were fed with 5% of the biomass of each tank every day, with extruded feed for carnivorous fish with 40% Crude Protein. Every 28 days, they were weighed to calculate weight gain and apparent feed conversion ratio. At the same time, two animals from each tank were chosen randomly to have their blood and liver collected for biochemical analysis to quantify amino acids, proteins, phenols, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase. The results obtained indicate that the absence of screening every 15 days affected the development and uniformity of the animals, favoring cannibalism. The average apparent feed conversion was 1.84. There was an increasing and proportional formation of proteins with low degradation as the animals gained weight. As for amino acids, we detected arginine, isoleucine, alanine and tryptophan in the first month, with trypsin appearing after 60 days. These results lead us to state that total or partial screening is essential during the first month after metamorphosis, and that the feed provided, although not specific to the species, fulfilled its role in animal metabolism, with little formation of phenolic compounds and free radicals.