Effects of Pantothenic Acid on Growth Performance, Oxidative Stress, and Lipid Content in High-Fat-Fed Megalobrama amblycephala

Abstract

This study was to elucidate the effects of dietary pantothenic acid (PA) on growth, lipid metabolism, and antioxidant status in juvenile blunt snout bream Megalobrama amblycephala. Fish were fed with four experimental diets containing two lipid levels (5% and 11%) and two PA supplementation levels (24 mg kg-1 and 240 mg kg-1) for eight weeks. The results showed that diets containing 11% lipid significantly increased condition factor, mesenteric fat index, triacylglycerol (TG), and cholesterol (TCH) in the liver as well as total lipid content and TCH in the muscle ( $P<0.05$ ), but significantly decreased specific growth rate and whole-body protein ( $P<0.05$ ). As the dietary lipid level increased, hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities were significantly increased ( $P<0.05$ ) as well as malondialdehyde content ( $P<0.05$ ). Besides, cytosolic cytochrome c concentration was also significantly ( $P<0.05$ ) increased, while mitochondrial protein, cytochrome c, and Na+-K+-ATPase activities were significantly decreased ( $P<0.05$ ). There were no significant changes on growth performance and body composition of PA supplementation. Then, significantly negative ( $P<0.05$ ) interactions were observed between dietary lipid and PA supplementation on EPA, DHA, and EPA + DHA content of the muscle. Saturated fatty acid (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents in the liver were significantly increased ( $P<0.05$ ) with dietary lipid level increased, while liver monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) was significantly decreased ( $P<0.05$ ). Muscle SFA, DHA, and EPA + DHA contents were significantly decreased ( $P<0.05$ ) when dietary fat level increased. Meanwhile, EPA, DHA, and EPA + DHA content was significantly decreased ( $P<0.05$ ) with dietary high PA supplementation. On the whole, a high PA supplementation level of 240 mg kg-1 could alleviate lipid content accumulated and oxidative damage induced by a high-fat diet.