A marine fish oil, Marinol K (MO) and borage oil (BO) were used to formulate diets relatively rich in eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA; 20:5(n-3)] and gamma-linolenic acid [GLA; 18:3(n-6)], respectively. The diets were fed to duplicate groups of juvenile turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) of initial weight 1.4 g for a period of 12 weeks. No differences were observed in final weights either between duplicate tanks or between dietary treatments. Mortalities in the MO-fed group were significantly greater than in the BO-fed group. In the MO-fed group, 7 out of 12 fish sampled for histological analysis showed a pronounced liver histopathology whereas only 1 of 12 fish sampled in the BO-fed group showed slight pathology. EPA levels were increased 2.2-fold and its elongation product, 22:5(n-3), was increased 1.8-fold while arachidonic acid [AA; 20:4(n-6)] was decreased by 30% in MO-fed fish compared to the initial carcass composition. GLA was increased 53-fold and its elongation product dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid [DHGLA; 20:3(n-6)] was increased 16-fold while AA was reduced by 90% in BO-fed fish compared to the initial carcass composition. The amount of triacylglycerol in liver of BO-fed fish was significantly greater than levels in MO-fed fish. The fatty acid compositions of individual phospholipids from liver showed marked differences between dietary treatments. Fish fed MO had significantly higher levels of the (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), 20:5(n-3), 22:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3), and also significantly more 20:4(n-6) compared to BO-fed fish which had significantly higher 18:2(n-6), 18:3(n-6), 20:2(n-6) and 20:3(n-6). The composition of liver phosphatidylinositol was particularly unusual in BO-fed fish having DHGLA as the major C-20 PUFA which was 2.2-fold greater than AA and 3.9-fold greater than EPA. This study demonstrates that the carcass composition of turbot can be altered, by means of dietary lipids, to contain increased levels of EPA and DHGLA which would be of potential benefit in human as well as in fish nutrition. However, caution should be exercised when using very highly unsaturated oils relatively rich in EPA which may generate histopathological lesions in the fish.
