Lipid and fatty acid composition of female gilthead seabream during their reproductive cycle: effects of a diet lacking n-3 HUFA

In female sea bream Sparus aurata fed a control diet (C), ovarian levels of neutral lipids (NL) and polar lipids (PL) remained constant between Novemb er and March. while a decrease in NL content was observed in liver and musc le. In the same period, liver PL content increased, while no changes were o bserved in muscle. Between March and June ovarian NL and PL showed a strong decrease, while NL remained constant in liver and muscle. When fish were f ed a diet lacking in n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids, n-3 HUFA (D), the pattern observed was similar to that found in the fish fed diet C, with the exception of liver NL, which increased between March and June. In general, the changes in fatty acid content, in both groups of fish, were highly inf luenced by the diet given to the broodstock, although these effects were gr eater on ovarian NL and PL than on liver and muscle lipids. Despite the fac t that gilthead seabream females continue feeding during the spawning seaso n, they probably make use of their liver and muscle reserves during the gon adal maturation process. Furthermore, the fatty acid composition of the bro odstock diet was reflected in the body composition, especially in the ovari es. (C) 2001 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.