Long-term evaluation of the combined effect of diets with low inclusion of fishmeal and inclusion of alternative ingredients on hematological parameters of lipid metabolism in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata)

Abstract

In the recent years, the aquaculture sector has grown and developed. This development implies researches in order to improve the industry and boost the sector´s economy. Among the newest researches, non-conventional feeds suppose a potential field of study. This field includes single cell proteins, such as microalgae, and insect meal. Even though latest data shows promising results, the validation in some species such as gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) requires further research. Therefore, this study evaluated the impact of microalgae oil and insect meal inclusion in gilthead sea bream along with the impact of different apparent satieties. This alternative diet was studied along a control diet with the inclusion of fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO). This study was conducted for 300 days with a total of 1350 specimens. The health markers were studied through blood parameters and data was run with SSPS program. Most of the collected data showed no difference between control diet and the alternative diet. On the other hand, the inclusion of microalgae oil and insect meal supposed an increase in some parameters such as urea, meaning a possible kidney related problem. Other parameters such as glucose, triglycerides and albumin among others might possibly be related to other physiological responses, such as immune system and growth.