Supplemental effects of histidine to fishmeal-based and low-fishmeal diets on the growth performance and tissue free amino acid levels of fingerling yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata

Abstract

The effects of dietary histidine supplementation on the growth performance and tissue free amino acid concentrations of fingerling yellowtail were examined. Two histidine levels of diets based on different fishmeals (anchovy meal with a lower histidine level and jack mackerel meal with a higher histidine level) were used as references. An anchovy meal-based diet (FM1), jack mackerel meal based diet (FM2) and anchovy meal-based diet supplemented with histidine to the level of FM2 (FM1H), soybean and corn gluten meal-based 15% anchovy meal diet without histidine supplementation (LFM), with histidine supplementation to the FM1 level (LFMH1) and to the FM2 level (LFMH2) were fed to 5 g fish for 45 days. The best growth was noted in fish fed diet FM2 and the worst in fish fed diet LFM. Supplementation of histidine tended to slightly improve the growth of fish fed both fishmeal and plant meal-based diets due to the increased feed intake. Concentrations of taurine and free amino acids in the liver were little affected by the histidine supplementation. In the white muscle, free histidine was accumulated dose-dependently and the concentrations of taurine and free amino acids other than histidine decreased instead. The present results indicate that dietary supplementation of histidine has only limited effects on the growth of fingerling yellowtail.