Fatty Acid Composition of Lipids in the Eggs and Alevins from Wild and Cultured Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Abstract

The fatty acid profiles of lipids extracted from eggs and alevins of cultured chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were significantly different than those from eggs and alevins of wild fish of the same stock. The mean total concentrations of n3 fatty acids in the total lipid of eggs from wild and cultured broodstock were 40.2 and 29.4% and in the polar lipid 45.5 and 38.7% respectively. The mean concentrations of n3 fatty acids in the total lipid of alevins from wild and cultured broodstock were 35.4% and 23.2% and in the polar lipid 43.0 and 38.2%, respectively. The ratios of n3:n6 fatty acids were lower in both the neutral and polar lipids of eggs and of alevins from the cultured fish than in those of wild fish. The higher n3:n6 fatty acid ratios in the eggs and progeny of wild fish reflected the higher ratios in lipids of components of the natural marine food chain.