Dietary vitamin A requirement for dourado (Salminus brasiliensis) e pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

Abstract

The animals need a continuous supply of nutrients to meet their nutritional requirements, so that they can express their full potential and stay healthy against stressors agents that they are submitted during the production process. Even now, studies about nutritional requirements in fish contemplated the evaluation of grow performance parameters resulting of protein and energy levels in the diet. However, given the complex interactions of nutrients with the ecophysiology and the healthiness of the various species, the study of mineral and vitamin requirements, which besides having specific functions in the body are responsible for the regulation of growth and modulation of the immune system and physiological homeostasis , it began the attention from the research community. The Neotropical Characiformes dourado (Salminus brasiliensis) and pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) have been prominent on the national scene due to the productive potential, excellent quality and high value of its meat. This project aims to determine the requirement of vitamin A for the listed species from: (i) the analysis of the growth performance, hematology and immune system modulation before and after challenge with Aeromonas hydrophila strain pathological, (ii) the determination of the bromatological-carcass chemical composition , (iii) analyzes of computerized tomography and bone densitometry, and (iv) quantification of deposits of vitamin A in the liver lipid matrix of animals fed purified diets containing increasing levels of provitamin A in form of retinyl acetate.