African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (17), pp. 2043-2053, 5 September 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Bioencapsulation strategy and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) enrichment in Artemia franciscana nauplii by using marine trash fish Odonus niger liver oil

G. Immanuel*, T. Citarasu, V. Sivaram, V. Selva Shankar, A. Palavesam

Department of Marine Biotechnology, Centre for Marine Science and Technology M.S. University, Rajakkamangalam – 629 502, K. K. District, Tamilnadu, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: g_immas@gmail.com or gimmas@yahoo.com. Tel: +91–4652–253078.

Accepted 16 July, 2007

To investigate the maximum accumulation of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in Artemia franciscana nauplii through bioencapsulation process, five different concentrations (0 - 4%) of emulsified Odonus niger liver oil were prepared. The prepared emulsions were used to enrich A. franciscana at different time intervals of 6, 12, 18 and 24 h. After the enrichment period, the fatty acid composition of the nauplii were analysed and estimated individually along with freshly hatched A. franciscana and O. niger liver oil. The HUFA content such as linoleic (18: 2n-6), linolenic (18: 3n-3), arachidonic (20: 4n-3 + n-6), eicosapentaenoic (20: 5-n3) and docosahexaenoic (22: 6n-3) acids were 12.87, 0.21, 2.66, 2.86 and 2.30% dry weight (DW), respectively, in O. niger liver oil, and 8.60, 17.20, 1.80, 2.40 and 0.1% DW, respectively, in freshly hatched A. franciscana. During 6 – 24 h of enrichment period, all the above HUFA increased considerably from 8.76 to 10.84, 17.24 to 23.84, 1.16 to 3.98, 2.45 to 5.88 and 0.30 to 2.69% DW, respectively. The increase in the level of individual HUFA of A. franciscana enriched with various concentrations of emulsified liver oil at different time durations showed a positive linear relationship and the correlation coefficient obtained were statistically significant (P< 0.05).

Key words: Artemia franciscana, HUFA, linoleic, linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic.