Influence of dietary n-3 LC-PUFA on growth, nutritional composition and immune function in marine fish Sebastiscus marmoratus

Abstract A 60-day feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of dietary omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids （n-3 LC-PUFA） on growth, nutritional composition and immune function of marine fish Sebastiscus marmoratus. Five diets containing 3.6, 10.2, 18.2, 26.5, or 37.0 g/kg n-3 LC-PUFA were prepared. The results reveal significant influences of dietary n-3 LC-PUFA on the final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, and condition factor. As dietary n-3 LC- PUFA increased, weight gain and specific growth rate increased and were significantly higher in groups fed 18.2, 26.5 and 37.0 g/kgthan in groups fed 3.6 and 10.2 g/kg （P〈0.05）; there was no significant difference between groups fed 18.2, 26.5, or 37.0 g/kg （P〉0.05）. With increasing dietary n-3 LC-PUFA, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexenoic acid content in muscle and liver increased significantly, immunoglobulin class M content gradually increased from 9.1 to 14.8 Ixg/L, and lysozyme activity content increased from 1 355 to 2 268 U/mL. Broken line model analysis according to weight gain indicated that a dietary n-3 LC-PUFA level of 18.2 g/kg is essential for normal growth at a fat level of 125 g/kg. Therefore, appropriate dietary n-3 LC-PUFA not only promote growth and improve the n-3 LC-PUFA content, but also enhance immune function in S. marmoratus.