Abstract

Background: Cyprinus carpio, as a commercial fish in Iran, has an important effect on human health and nutrition.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oil sources in the diet on the nutritional value and fatty acid composition of C. carpio fish.

Methods: Soybean oil (SO), palm oil (PO), fish oil (FO), and oil (soybean and palm) (SPO) contained in the carp diet were fed.

Results: The quality of fatty acids in the fish fillet from SO and PO was significantly better than the FO diet. Total SFA (saturated fatty acids) in carp fillet fat fed with PO was significantly higher than others (p<0.05). In carp fillets fed with experimental diets, there was a significant difference between monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, high unsaturated fatty acids, and n-3/n-6 fatty acids (p>0.05). The highest amounts of alpha-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and oleic acid were observed in fish fillets with FO and SO, respectively. Although the percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid in fillets fed with FO and SPO diets was higher than in other treatments, no significant difference in docosahexaenoic acid concentration was observed between all treatments (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The present study showed that oil sources (SO, PO, SPO) fed by C. carpio for 56 days are suitable in terms of productivity and efficiency.

Keywords: Cyprinus carpio, Fish oil, Palm oil, Soybean oil, Fatty acids profiles, VO.