Muscle pigmentation of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed on crude palm oil incorporated fish feed

The effects of diets containing crude palm oil on muscle pigmentation and deposition of carotenoids in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was studied. A total of 135 advanced fingerlings with an average body weight and standard length of 9.11±4.78 g and 8.1±0.8 cm, respectively were stocked in tanks for 8 weeks and fed with formulated diets containing crude palm oil (CPO) as the oil component. Weight, standard length, and carotenoid levels in fish were measured biweekly. Muscles of fish fed with the control diet and CPO incorporated diets had carotenoid levels of 0.14±0.03 µg/g and 0.28±0.01 µg/g, respectively. Skin of the fish had carotenoid levels of 3.24±0.02 µg/g in the control and 6.06±0.03 µg/g in the treatment. According to the results 3% CPO incorporated diet had a significant effect on enhancing flesh colour in tilapia. The sensory evaluation indicated that the flesh of CPO fed tilapia fillets were more attractive than the fillets of fish fed control diet. CPO oil is recommended as a natural food colourant for improving flesh quality of Nile tilapia fillets.