Abstract
Evaluation of red monascal rice supplementation on growth, digestive function and oocyte maturation were investigated in Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Completely randomized design with different dietary levels of red monascal rice (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00%) was conducted for six weeks. The growth of fish fed a control diet was not statistically different (P > 0.05) from a diet containing 0.25% of red monascal rice. However, significantly lower values (P < 0.001) were observed in fish fed more than 0.50% red monascal rice, in a dose-dependent manner. Muscle RNA concentrations were higher in fish fed control diet than in fish fed red monascal rice, while protein concentration and RNA/protein ratio were similar. Body composition and fatty acid profiles (saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, total omega-3 and total omega-6) were unchanged among dietary treatments. Digestive functions were perturbed by decreasing the specific activities of amylase, total protease, trypsin and chymotrypsin (P < 0.001), and increasing the specific activity of lipase (P < 0.005). Reproductive consummation of oocytes was significantly different in fish fed red monascal rice, due to increasing RNA concentration and RNA/protein ratio (P < 0.003) and decreasing specific activities of trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like enzymes (P < 0.03). These findings suggest the toxicological effects of red monascal rice by interfering with growth, digestive function and oocyte maturation in Siamese fighting fish. Key words: Digestive enzyme, fatty acid, growth, muscle, oocyte, red monascal rice, Siamese fighting fish.
Highlights
Red monascal rice is a product of ordinary rice fermented with the fungal genus Monascus
These findings suggest the toxicological effects of red monascal rice by interfering with growth, digestive function and oocyte maturation in Siamese fighting fish
All growth indicators, including total length, body weight, weight gain and specific growth rate (SGR), were similar between fish fed control diet and those fed the diet with 0.25% red monascal rice (Table 2, P > 0.05)
Summary
Red monascal rice is a product of ordinary rice fermented with the fungal genus Monascus It has been widely used as a food additives for coloring meat (Bakosova et al., 2001), fish (Takatsuki et al, 1988) and chicken eggs (Wang and Pan, 2003). Produces up to 2.5 g kg-1 citrinin, while liquid culture has reached as high as 56 mg kg-1 (Eisenbrand, 2006) This compound has been found to induce reproductive abnor-malities in male gametes (Qingqing et al, 2012), and to reduce the rate of oocyte maturation and fertilization (Chan, 2008); it has a teratogenic effect (Chan and Shiao, 2007; Singh et al, 2007a; Chan, 2008), and has induced maternal toxicity in pregnant rats (Singh et al, 2007b). It has been associated with cytoto-xicity (Liu et al, 2005) and the activation of apoptosis by the mitochondrial pathway (Yu et al, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
