Effect of dietary supplementation of vitamins C and E on maternal performance and larval quality of the prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii
2003
Cavalli, R.O. | Batista, F.M.M. | Lavens, P. | Sorgeloos, P. | Nelis, H.J. | Leenheer, A.P de
The effects of vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AA) and vitamin E (tocopherol) on the maternal performance and offspring quality of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii were investigated. Prawn females were fed four diets containing different levels of 2-ascorbyl-L-polyphosphate (ApP) and α-tocopherol acetate (α-TA) during 155 days. Three diets contained increasing AA levels (59, 121 and 918 micrograms g-1 DW) and a basal level of α-TA (around 300 micrograms g-1 DW), while a fourth diet contained comparatively higher α-TA levels (899 micrograms g-1 DW) combined with 957 micrograms AA g-1 DW. Higher dietary levels of AA and α-TA did not affect moulting, growth, or mortality rates of the broodstock. Also, breeding frequency and fecundity were not related to the dietary treatments. However, the contents of AA and α-tocopherol in the midgut gland, ovary, eggs, and newly hatched larvae increased along with higher dietary levels of these vitamins. Larvae from females fed higher levels of AA and α-TA tended to present an increased tolerance when exposed to increasing ammonia concentrations. The present results therefore suggest that broodstock diets containing around 60 micrograms AA g-1 DW and 300 micrograms α-TA g-1 DW are sufficient to ensure proper reproduction and offspring viability. However, feeding M. rosenbergii females higher dietary levels of both AA and α-TA (each around 900 micrograms g-1 DW) might increase larval quality, as demonstrated in this study by the higher tolerance to the exposure to ammonia.
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