Intermediate pacu metabolism (Piaracuts mesopotamicus) fed with digestible protein levels derived from the dilution technique

• Grant number: 18/01660-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Susumu Takahashi
• Grantee: Amanda Miyuki Oshiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Tecnológicas. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Protein foods are the most costly ingredients in feed composition. The supply of the optimum level of protein becomes increasingly important because this nutrient is very expensive, besides the possibility of greater contribution of nitrogen to the aquatic environment. In order to ensure a better and more efficient use of the protein, improve productivity, profitability and lessening the impacts to the environment, the use of diet dilution method can become useful in fish farming. This technique employs the formulation of diets with gradual increase of the level of digestible protein, but maintaining the same ratio between the essential amino acids. The present study aims to verify the effects of increasing levels of digestible protein on the intermediate metabolism of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). The experiment will be conducted in a completely randomized design with a duration of seven weeks. Six experimental diets with increasing levels of digestible protein (15.0, 18.5, 22.0, 25.5, 29.0 and 32.5%) with mineral and vitamin supplementation will be formulated. After the feeding period, the fish will be submitted to biometry and biological material collection. Will be evaluated: the concentration of metabolites in the blood, tissue energy reserves, the activity of the key enzymes of glycolysis and amino acid metabolism and the activity of intestinal digestive enzymes. The results obtained will be submitted to ANOVA and the means compared by the Tukey test (5%). (AU)