Chrononutrition – ‘The Clock Makes Good Food’

Abstract

As all organisms on Earth, also fishes and aquatic invertebrates are subject to circadian rhythms triggered by external zeitgebers and controlled by gene transcription; all life history traits change in a circadian manner. This rhythmicity applies to digestive enzyme activity, regulated by endogenous systems, and which can be measured even under fasting conditions. Contrary to mammals, teleost fishes appear not to have a master clock. In aquatic invertebrates, the circadian control is less well understood than in fish. In both animal groups, transcription of metabolic and, particularly, also biotransformation genes show clear circadian rhythmicity. The latter determine the toxicity of natural and synthetic xenobiotic chemicals. Therefore, one can predict that several of the so-called antinutrional dietary compounds may lose their ‘anti’-character, if the farmed animals are fed during the acrophase of biotransformation genes transcription.