Tail Muscle Free Amino Acid Concentration of Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, Fed Diets Containing Protein-bound versus Crystalline Amino Acids

Tail muscle tissue free amino acids (FAA) concentration is reported for subadult (4.3 g) Litopenaeus vannamei fed diets containing only protein-bound amino acids, crystalline lysine as a supplement to protein-bound lysine, and only crystalline amino acids (CAA). FAA were determined in shrimp at 0.00, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h postfeeding. Highest total tissue concentrations of essential amino acids and individual amino acids were typically observed 4 h postfeeding for shrimp fed intact and crystalline lysine-supplemented feeds. Those shrimp offered diets containing only CAA showed no tissue maxima. Similar uptake patterns for lysine shown by shrimp fed the intact and crystalline lysine-supplemented diet indicate the potential use of small amounts of crystalline lysine in shrimp feeds.