Effects of enrichment of Artemia franciscana with fish oil and soybean oil accompanied with vitamin E on the structure of pyloric caeca in Persian sturgeon larvae (Acipenser persicus)

Abstract

In the present study, the effects of enrichment of Artemia franciscana with fish oil and soybean oil accompanied with vitamin E were investigated on thestructure of pyloric caeca in Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) larvae. A total of 1500 Persian sturgeon larvae (with the average weight of 51±2 mg) were divided into 15 tanks. Larvae were fed for 17 days in 5 experimental treatments including the treatment C (non-enriched artemia), S15 (enriched artemia with soybean oil and 15% vitamin E), S30 (enriched artemia with soybean oil and 30% vitamin E), F15 (enriched artemia with fish oil and 15% vitamin E) and F30 (enriched artemia with fish oil and 30% vitamin E). From each traetment, 15 larvae were collected and were fixed in Bouin’s solution for histological studies. Histological results showed that both fish oil and soybean oil were the main and effective factors on the total area and histo area indices of the pyloric caeca and the enrichment of artemia with fish oil and soybean oil was significantly increased this factor as compared to that of the control treatment (P<0.05). Fish oil was approximately two times more effective than soybean oil on the total area index of of the pyloric caeca. Furthermore, vitamin E was the main factor that affected the enterocyte numbers of the pyloric caeca. Increasing the amount of vitamin E was significantly decreased the number of enterocytes as compared to that of the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the enrichment of artemia with fish oil and with the appropriate amounts of vitamine E could have positive effects on the enterocytes of pyloric caeca and could improve ion regulation in the Persian sturgeon larvae.

Keywords

• Artemia; Oil; Vitamin E; PYLORIC CAECA; Persian sturgeon