This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary lipid source and carbohydrate content on the oxidative status of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles. For that purpose, four diets were formulated with fish oil (FO) and vegetable oils (VO) as the lipid source and with 20 or 0 % gelatinised starch as the carbohydrate source, in a 2×2 factorial design. Liver and intestine antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GR), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)), hepatic and intestinal lipid peroxidation (LPO), as well as hepatic oxidative stress index (OSI), were measured in fish fed the experimental diets for 73 d (n 9 fish/diet). Carbohydrate-rich diets promoted a decrease in hepatic LPO and OSI, whereas the lipid source induced no changes. Inversely, dietary lipid source, but not dietary carbohydrate concentration, affected LPO in the intestine. Lower intestinal LPO was observed in VO groups. Enzymes responsive to dietary treatments were GR, G6PD and CAT in the liver and GR and GPX in the intestine. Dietary carbohydrate induced GR and G6PD activities and depressed CAT activity in the liver. GPX and GR activities were increased in the intestine of fish fed VO diets. Overall, effects of diet composition on oxidative status were tissue-related: the liver and intestine were strongly responsive to dietary carbohydrates and lipid sources, respectively. Furthermore, different metabolic routes were more active to deal with the oxidative stress in the two organs studied.
Keywords: Antioxidant enzymes; CAT catalase; Carbohydrates; FO fish oil; Feedstuffs; G6PD glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; GPX glutathione peroxidase; GR glutathione reductase; LPO lipid peroxidation; Lipid oxidative damage; OSI oxidative stress index; SOD superoxide dismutase; VO vegetable oil; Vegetable oils.