Acronym NA
Category
Aquaculture
Title Insects as a source of sterols for Atlantic salmon Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Nina Sylvia Liland Coordinator email Nina.Liland@hi.no
Coordinator institution
NIFES - National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (Norway)
Institutions involved
NA
Start year 2015 End year 2017 Funding (€) € 415,579 Website https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/project/FORISS/244253?Kilde=FORISS&distribution=Ar&chart=bar&calcType=funding&Sprak=no&sortBy=date&sortOrder=desc&resultCount=30&offset=0&ProgAkt.3=HAVBRUKS-Havbruk+-+en+n%C3%A6ring+i+vekst Summary Cholesterol is essential in many physiological functions. It gives structure to cell membranes and is a precursor for bile acids, steroid hormones and vitamin D. Vertebrates, like humans and fish, produce their own cholesterol and do not depend on cholesterol from food. Phytosterol, the plant equivalent of cholesterol, is in humans known for its ability to reduce the uptake and production of cholesterol and thus lowering the plasma cholesterol. In Atlantic salmon, high phytosterol concentrations in the diets have been associated with increased levels of fat in liver and plasma.
Insect protein and fat are now becoming realistic ingredients in the diet of farmed Atlantic salmon. Insects cannot synthesize cholesterol and depend on a dietary supply of sterols. Some plant-eating insects do not have access to the animal-derived cholesterol, and have developed the ability to convert plant-derived phytosterol into cholesterol. A conversion of phytosterol into cholesterol could be beneficial for insects as raw material for fish feed and hence for the robustness and health of the salmon.
Two different insect species (black soldier fly and kelp fly) have been grown on marine media (seaweed). The results from the trials are not available, but the sterol composition of insects grown on the different media will provide information about their ability to convert phytosterol into cholesterol. The effect of phytosterol on the is currently being investigated by using a cell model and by tracking radio-labelled cholesterol in zebra fish fed different forms of phytosterol. Finally, an Atlantic salmon feeding trial with insect ingredients will be conducted. This work will provide new insights about the use of insects as a source of sterols in the diet of Atlantic salmon.
Goal:
In salmon aquaculture, limitations on availability of sustainable feed ingredients is a major obstacle. AquaFly is a project where insects are proposed as a feed ingredient for Atlantic salmon. The current post doc would allow for a more thorough look at some of the lipid-related aspects of this project, including the metabolism of sterols and fatty acids in the insects as well as the effects of the insect-derived sterols on the Atlantic salmon.
Insects produced in cooperation with the University of Stirling (kelp fly) and Protix Biosystem B.V. (black soldier fly) will be assessed for their ability to store and produce lipids required by Atlantic salmon. Little is known about the lipid metabolism and the retention of fatty acids and sterols in insects, and this post doc will help broaden the knowledge on how to use these insects as carriers of important lipids, such as saturated fats, marine n-3 fatty acids and cholesterol.
For the assessment of metabolic effects of the insect-derived sterols on the Atlantic salmon, samples from a feeding trial using insect lipids will be used. To gain further knowledge on the details of the uptake and metabolism of these sterols, model systems involving zebrafish and salmon hepatocytes will be used.
Keywords
Diets;
Fish;
Feed composition;
Salmon;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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