ISTITUTO DI SCIENZE DELLE PRODUZIONI ALIMENTARI
U. O. S. TORINO
Via Leonardo da Vinci, 44 – 10095 Grugliasco (TO)
RELAZIONE SCIENTIFICA SHORT TERM MOBILITY
Dal 16/09/2013 al 28/09/2013
Paula ENES, PhD
enes@portugalmail.com
Post-doctoral researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental
Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Portugal
10 day “short term mobility” to collaborate with the CNR Institute of Sciences of Food
Production (ISPA) on the following program: “Insects as innovative sources of protein for
feeding in aquaculture: potential effects on animal health and welfare.”
Introduction
Only recently, first steps were taken by the European Commission (EC) to reintroduce
protein from certain terrestrial animal sources to livestock nutrition. The new regulation (EC)
1069/2009 has been introduced and a revision of the regulation denying the use of animal byproducts in feed for livestock (EC 0999/2001) has begun.
The use of insects as a more sustainable source of nutrients has been matter of great attention
and researches have highlighted their potential as raw material for feeds. Moreover it has
been shown that insects can be raised on waste converting them into high nutritional raw
materials. In this sense, larvae of Tenebrio molitor (TM) is a very interesting candidate.
The project aims at investigating the use of Tenebrio molitor meal (TM), in substitution of
fish meal, in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) feeds, without impairing performances
parameters, animal welfare and health.
Materials and Methods
Sampling
Three diets were formulated having 0 (control diet), 25% and 50% TM meal replacing a
reference fish meal diet on an isonitrogenous (47% crude protein) and isoenergetic base
(21MJ kg-1). Fish were fed the mentioned diets by hand, two times a day, 6 days/week to
apparent visual satiety. The trial lasted 90 days. At the end of the trial 9 fish from each
treatment were randomly sampled after 24h of starvation and then sacrificed with a sharp
blow on the head. The whole intestine was excised, dissected on three portions (pyloric
caeca, proximal and distal intestine) and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Intestinal
samples were then stored at -80ºC until measurement of enzymatic activity and lipid
peroxidation.
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ISTITUTO DI SCIENZE DELLE PRODUZIONI ALIMENTARI
U. O. S. TORINO
Via Leonardo da Vinci, 44 – 10095 Grugliasco (TO)
Enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation
Intestine samples were homogenised in 4 volumes of ice-cold 100 mM-Tris–HCl buffer
containing 0.1 mM-EDTA and 0.1 % (v/v) Triton X-100, pH 7.8. The procedure was
performed on ice. Homogenates were centrifuged at 30 000 g for 30 min at 4ºC and the
resultant supernatants were kept in aliquots and stored at -80ºC until use.
Results
• The research is being continued in the laboratory of Dr. Paula Enes at the Interdisciplinary
Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto, Portugal with
the aim to determine the intestinal enzymatic activities of the following antioxidant enzymes:
glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD; EC 1.1.1.49), catalase (CAT; EC 1.11.1.6),
superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC 1.15.1.1), glutathione peroxidase (GPX; EC 1.11.1.9) e
glutathione reductase (GR; EC 1.6.4.2). Determination of lipid peroxidation, an oxidative
damage marker, will be also performed in fish intestine.
• During her stay at ISPA, Dr. Paula Enes gave a presentation concerning the research lines,
analytical tools and projects of her research group (Fish Nutrition and Immunology groupCIIMAR) in order to establish future collaborations between CNR and CIIMAR.
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