In this study, the fatty acid (FA) composition of the Japanese grape (Hovenia dulcis) seed oil (JGSO) was firstly evaluated. It was found that the seed oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid (LNA), containing approximately 425 mg LNA g-1 of total lipids. A fish diet supplemented with JGSO was prepared and supplied to Nile tilapia to investigate the FA composition of the fillets. For this, Nile tilapia were submitted to two feeding treatments: a control diet with 4.2% of soybean oil, and a diet supplemented with 4.2% of JGSO. The LNA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) values increased significantly (406, 153 and 126%, respectively) with JGSO in the diet and with an increase in feeding time, while the nutritional quality indexes, n-6/n-3 ratio and index of thrombogenicity, decreased 2.8 and 1.4 times, respectively. Thus, the replacement JGSO in the diet raised the nutritional lipid quality in Nile tilapia.
Keywords:
fatty acids; omega-3; Oreochromis niloticus; supplementation; LNA