Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Central Luzon State University, Nueva Ecija, Science City of Munoz, Philippines.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan.
BMC Vet Res. 2021 Sep 25;17(1):314. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03006-5.
Production, marketability and consumer preference of red tilapia often depends upon the intensity of coloration. Hence, new approaches to develop coloration are now geared to improve market acceptability and profit. This study evaluated the effects of carotenoid-rich diets on the phenotypic coloration, carotenoid level, weight gain and expression of coloration-linked genes in skin, fin and muscle tissues. Carotenoids were extracted from dried Daucus carota peel, Ipomoea aquatica leaves, and Moringa oleifera leaves. Eighty (80) size-14 fish were fed with carotenoid-rich treatments twice a day for 120 days. The phenotypic effect of the carotenoid extracts was measured through a color chart. Skin carotenoid level was measured through UV-vis spectrophotometer. csf1ra, Bcdo2 and StAR expression analysis was done using qRT-PCR.
Treatments with carotenoid extracts yielded higher overall scores on phenotypic coloration and tissue carotenoid levels. Differential expression of carotenoid-linked genes such as the elevated expression in csf1ra and lower expression in Bcdo2b following supplementation of the enhanced diet supports the phenotypic redness and increased carotenoid values in red tilapia fed with D. carota peel and I. aquatica leaves.
Overall improvement in the redness of the tilapia was achieved through the supplementation of carotenoid-rich diet derived from readily available plants. Differential expression of coloration-linked genes supports the increase in the intensity of phenotypic coloration and level of carotenoids in the tissues. The study emphasizes the importance of carotenoids in the commercial tilapia industry and highlights the potential of the plant extracts for integration and development of feeds for color enhancement in red tilapia.
红罗非鱼的生产、市场可接受性和消费者偏好往往取决于其颜色的鲜艳度。因此，目前开发颜色的新方法旨在提高市场接受度和利润。本研究评估了富含类胡萝卜素的饮食对表型颜色、类胡萝卜素水平、体重增加和皮肤、鳍和肌肉组织中与颜色相关基因表达的影响。类胡萝卜素从干胡萝卜皮、蕹菜叶和辣木叶中提取。80 条大小为 14 的鱼每天喂食两次富含类胡萝卜素的饲料，共 120 天。通过色卡测量类胡萝卜素提取物的表型效应。通过紫外可见分光光度计测量皮肤类胡萝卜素水平。使用 qRT-PCR 分析 csf1ra、Bcdo2 和 StAR 的表达分析。
富含类胡萝卜素提取物的处理在表型颜色和组织类胡萝卜素水平上产生了更高的整体评分。类胡萝卜素相关基因的差异表达，如 csf1ra 的表达升高和 Bcdo2b 的表达降低，支持补充增强饮食后红罗非鱼的表型红色和类胡萝卜素值增加。
通过补充富含类胡萝卜素的饮食，从易得的植物中获得了红罗非鱼整体红色度的提高。与颜色相关的基因的差异表达支持表型颜色和组织中类胡萝卜素强度的增加。该研究强调了类胡萝卜素在商业罗非鱼产业中的重要性，并强调了植物提取物在红罗非鱼颜色增强饲料的整合和开发中的潜力。
