Open AccessDietary Carnitine and Lysine Affect Channel Catfish Lipid and Protein Composition
Author(s) -
Burtle Gary J.,
Liu Qinhua
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of the world aquaculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0893-8849
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1994.tb00178.x
Subject(s) - carnitine , catfish , lysine , biology , composition (language) , medicine , food science , endocrinology , biochemistry , amino acid , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , linguistics , philosophy
The effects of carnitine (L‐carnitine) at 0.1% were tested at three levels of dietary lysine (L‐lysine‐HCl), 1.1, 1.4 or 1.7%, with fingerling channel caffish. Semipurified diets containing 30% protein and 3.44 kcal digestible energy/g were fed for 8 wk in flow‐through water at 26.5 ± 0.5 C. Carnitine did not significantly ( P > 0.71) affect channel catflsh weight gain over this time interval. Weight gain was less when 1.1% dietary lysine was fed without supplemented carnitine than when diets contained 1.4 or 1.7% lysine. Carnitine reduced muscle lipid ( P < 0.0003) and liver lipid (P < 0.0001) significantly. Percentage visceral fat was reduced with added dietary carnitine ( P < 0.0001) but not with dietary lysine although there was a combined effect of carnitine and lysine ( P < 0.0008). Channel catfish wholebody lipid content was reduced by supplemented dietary carnitine, lysine, or both. Protein content of channel catfish wholebody increased with added carnitine, lysine, and their interaction ( P < 0.19, P < 0.003 and P < 0.001). Under these conditions, dietary carnitine improves caffish tissue characteristics by reducing fat content and increasing protein content.