Vitamin A requirement for dourado (Salminus brasiliensis)

• Grant number: 14/07116-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date until: August 01, 2014
• End date until: July 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Fishery Resources and Fishery Engineering - Aquaculture
• Principal Investigator: João Fernando Albers Koch
• Grantee: Sean Valter Valente
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Animals need continuous supply of nutrients in order to obtain your nutritional requirements, so they can express all their potential growth performance and remain healthy against stressors that are submitted during the production process. Until now, studies on the nutritional requirements in fish contemplated the evaluation of performance parameters resulting of protein and energy levels in diets . However , given the complex interactions of nutrients with physiological ecology and the healthiness of the various species , the study of requirements in vitamins began to get attention from the scientific community , because they have specific functions in the body , being responsible for the growth regulation, immune system modulation and physiological homeostasis. The neotropical Characiform dourado ( Salminus brasiliensis ) has emerged on the national scene due to the productive potential, excellent quality and high value of its meat . Thus, this project aims to determine the vitamin A requirement for dourado, from the growth performance and carcass chemical composition analyses, provided by semi - purified diets containing increasing levels of provitamin A as retinyl acetate.