Aquaculture Studies
2014, Vol 14, Num, 3 (Pages: 059-065)
The Importance of Arachidonic Acid in Fish Nutrition
Ayşe Gül HARLIOĞLU 1
1 Fırat Üniversitesi Su Ürünleri Fakültesi, Elazığ
DOI :
10.17693/yunusae.v2014i21953.235716
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In addition to the determination of essential fatty acids demand and the physical, chemical and biologic characteristics of
fatty acids, investigation of fat metabolism of fish species is also among the most important factors in the preparation of
balanced and economic fish diet formulations. Essential long chain unsaturated fatty acids, especially n-3 series fatty
acids, affecting growth and reproduction of fish species have mainly been investigated. However, there has been an
increase in recent years in the investigation of the effects of arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6; AA), which is precursor of
eicosanoids, on the growth and reproduction of fish. As a result of the researches, it was found that AA has an importance
on many physiological events in fish, such as gamet and larvae quality, fertilization of eggs and hatching, survival rate of
hatched larvae, immune system, and adaptation to changeable environmental factors (i.e., changes in salinity levels of
water). In addition, it was determined that demand for AA is changeable between fish species, and it is also different in
the same fish species for different life stages (i.e., for growth and reproduction). For this reason, it can be concluded that
investigations should especially be carried out on the physiological effects of AA and demand for AA level of cultured
fish species to increase their production.
Keywords :
Arachidonic acid, fish nutrition, essential fatty acids, aquaculture