Effects of diets containing linseed oil on fatty acid desaturation and

oxidation in hepatocytes and intestinal enterocytes in Atlantic

salmon (Salmo salar)
Authors: Tocher D.R.1, 2, 3, 4; Fonseca-Madrigal J.1; Bell J.G.1; Dick J.R.1; Henderson
R.J.1; Sargent J.R.1
Source: Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, Volume 26, Number 2, 2002 , pp. 157-170(14)
Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:
We hypothesized that replacing fish oil with 18:3n-3-rich linseed oil may enable salmon to
maintain the levels of tissue n-3HUFA levels through a combination of increased desaturation
activity and increased substrate fatty acid provision. To this end we investigated
desaturation/elongation of [1-14C18:3n-3 in hepatocytes and intestinal enterocytes, and
determined the extent to which 18:3n-3 was oxidized and desaturated by measuring both
simultaneously in a combined assay. Salmon smolts were stocked randomly into five seawater
pens and fed for 40 weeks on diets in which the fish oil was replaced in a graded manner by
linseed oil. At the end of the trial, fatty acyl desaturation/elongation and oxidation activities were
determined in isolated hepatocytes and intestinal enterocytes using [1- 14C]18:3n-3 as substrate,
and samples of liver and intestinal tissue were collected for analysis of lipid and fatty acid
composition. The results showed that, despite increased desaturation of [1- 14C]18:3n-3 in
hepatocytes, provision of dietary 18:3n-3 did not prevent the decrease in tissue n-3HUFA in fish
fed linseed oil. Intestinal enterocytes were a site of significant fatty acid desaturation but, in
contrast to hepatocytes, the activity was not increased by feeding linseed oil and was generally
lower in fish fed linseed oil compared to fish fed only fish oil. In contrast, oxidation of [114
C]18:3n-3 in enterocytes was generally increased in fish fed linseed oil compared to fish fed
the diet containing only fish oil. However, oxidation of [1- 14C]18:3n-3 in hepatocytes was 4- to
8-fold lower than in enterocytes and was not affected by diet. Furthermore, oxidation of [114
C]18:3n-3 in enterocytes exceeded desaturation irrespective of dietary treatment, whereas
similar amounts of [1-14C]18:3n-3 were desaturated and oxidized in hepatocytes from fish fed
only fish oil and desaturation exceeded oxidation by 3-fold in fish fed the diet containing 100%
linseed oil. The molecular mechanisms underpinning these results were discussed.

2003 The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 133:2793-2801,

September 2003

Nutrient Metabolism
Altered Fatty Acid Compositions in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Fed Diets
Containing Linseed and Rapeseed Oils Can Be Partially Restored by a
Subsequent Fish Oil Finishing Diet
J. Gordon Bell1, Douglas R. Tocher, R. James Henderson, James R. Dick
and Vivian O. Crampton*

Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK and *

EWOS Innovation, N-4335, Dirdal, Norway
1

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: email gjb1@stir.ac.uk .

Atlantic salmon postsmolts were fed a control diet or one of 9 experimental diets containing
various blends of two vegetable oils, linseed (LO) and rapeseed oil (RO), and fish oil (FO)
in a triangular trial design, for 50 wk. After sampling, fish previously fed 100% FO, LO and
RO were switched to a diet containing 100% FO for a further 20 wk. Fatty acid
compositions of flesh total lipid were linearly correlated with dietary fatty acid
compositions (r = 0.991.00, P < 0.0001). Inclusion of vegetable oil at 33% of total oil
significantly reduced the concentrations of the highly unsaturated fatty acids,
eicosapentaenoate [20:5(n-3)] and docosahexaenoate [22:6(n-3)], to 70 and 75%,
respectively, of the values in fish fed 100% FO. When vegetable oil was included at 100%
of total dietary lipid, the concentrations of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) were significantly
reduced to 30 and 36%, respectively, of the values in fish fed FO. Transfer of fish
previously fed 100% vegetable oil to a 100% FO diet for 20 wk restored the concentrations
of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) to 80% of the value in fish fed 100% FO for 70 wk, although
the values were still significantly lower. However, in fish previously fed either 100% LO or
RO, concentrations of 18:2(n-6) remained 50% higher than in fish fed 100% FO. This
study suggests that RO and LO can be used successfully to culture salmon through the
seawater phase of their growth cycle; this will result in reductions in flesh 20:5(n-3) and
22:6(n-3) concentrations that can be partially restored by feeding a diet containing only
marine FO for a period before harvest.