Relative absorption of fatty acids by Atlantic salmon Salmo salar from different diets, as evaluated by multivariate statistics

By using a rapid and simple chemometric method it was shown that Atlantic s almon Salmo salar absorbed the polyunsaturated fatty acids from highly unsa turated diets more efficiently than the monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids. For the monounsaturated and the saturated fatty acids, the degree o f absorption decreased with increasing chain length. The diets, based on oi ls from five different commercial fish species, had different fatty acid pr ofiles. The differences between the several diet groups were maintained bet ween the corresponding faeces groups, even though the fatty acid compositio n of the faeces was very different from that of the diet. This was because the proportion which was absorbed of each fatty acid was almost equal for a ll diets.