Effect of two different protein/fat ratios of the diet on meagre (Argyrosomus regius) traits

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two diets with different protein/fat ratios (P/F) (diet A: P/F 2.26; diet B: P/F 3.36) on the chemical composition, fatty acid profile and some somatic indexes of meagre (Argyrosomus regius). The trial was carried out on two groups of meagre raised in two different sea cages during 15 months. At the end of the production cycle biometric measures as well as chemical-nutritional analysis of the fillets were conducted on 25 fishes per group. Diet A, with a lower P/F, furnished animals with higher percentages of mesenteric fat (0.48vs0.41%; P<0.01) and of fillet yield (51.21vs48.12; P<0.01). Moreover, the fillets obtained with the diet A showed higher percentage of fat (3.60vs2.41%; P<0.01), lower moisture (74.10vs75.42%; P<0.01), lower losses of water under pressure (16.73vs20.20%; P<0.01) and after 48 h of refrigeration (3.08vs4.23%; P<0.01). The fatty acids profile of fillets was affected by the diet. Diet A resulted in a higher level of saturated fatty acids (26.44 vs 23.17% of total lipid; P<0.01) and a lower percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (31.56vs36.08%; P<0.01) in the fillet, mainly due to the lower content of linoleic acid (13.63vs19.77%; P<0.01). The atherogenic (AI) and thrombogenic (TI) indexes, which resulted very low in the fish of Group B (AI=0.48 vs 0.60, P<0.01; TI=0.33vs0.37, P<0.01), together with the low lipid content of meat in both groups, confirmed the very high nutritional quality of meagre fillets.