Freshwater Macrophytes: A Potential Source of Minerals and Fatty Acids for Fish, Poultry, and Livestock.

The freshwater macrophytes are abundant in tropical and subtropical climates. These macrophytes may be used as feed ingredients for fish and other animals. The nutritional value of twelve freshwater-cultured macrophytes was evaluated in the present study. Significantly higher crude protein (36.94-36.65%) and lipid (8.13-7.62%) were found in and ; ash content was significantly higher in , and (20.69-21.00%) compared with others. The highest levels of sodium, magnesium, chromium, and iron levels were recorded in . was a rich source of copper, manganese, cobalt, and zinc; the contents of calcium, magnesium, strontium, and nickel were highest in . Selenium and potassium contents were higher in and , respectively. The n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) contents were significantly higher in and , respectively compared with others. Linoleic and α-linolenic acids were dominant n-6 and n-3 PUFAs. The highest value (4.04) of n-3/n-6 was found in . The ratio ranged from 0.61 to 2.46 in other macrophytes. This study reveals that macrophytes are rich sources of minerals, n-6 and n-3 PUFAs.