Effects of Canola and Safflower Oil Supplementation in Diets, on Growth Performance and Fatty Acid Composition of Russian Sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii Brandt, 1833)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the impact on growth performance and muscle fatty acid composition, of replacement of 50% fish oil (FO) with canola oil (CO) and safflower oil (SFO) in the diets of Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii). Two isoproteic (48%) and isolipidic (12%) diets were formulated combining two oil sources (50% fish oil + 50% canola oil or 50% fish oil + 50% safflower oil). The diets were fed to apparent satiation to triplicate groups for 15 weeks, twice a day. No significant differences were observed between the experimental groups fed CO and SFO diets in terms of weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, and protein efficiency ratio. The experimental groups fed CO and SFO diets did not show significant differences in terms of protein, lipid, ash, and moisture content in their muscle. There were no significant differences in muscle between total n-3 fatty acids but total n-6 fatty acids were significantly higher in SFO group (24.90%) than in CO group (21.30%). Total n-6 fatty acids were also higher than (20.43%) at the start. In conclusion, 50% replacement of FO by CO or SFO in Russian sturgeon diets had no negative effect on growth performance, feed efficiency and fatty acid composition in the muscle of this species.