Inclusion of oil from transgenic Camelina sativa in feed effectively supplies EPA and DHA to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) grown to market size in seawater pens

• Published in: Food Chemistry
• Main Authors: Tocher, D. R., Sprague, M., Han, L., Sayanova, O. V., Norambuena, F., Napier, J. A., Betancor, M. B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Elsevier 2024
• Subjects: Aquaculture; Farmed salmon; Omega-3; Transgenic oil; EPA and DHA; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/9923y/inclusion-of-oil-from-transgenic-camelina-sativa-in-feed-effectively-supplies-epa-and-dha-to-atlantic-salmon-salmo-salar-grown-to-market-size-in-seawater-pens; https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/download/0c2b468c576b6689aec8a85d96df907313932a228d7013065bcdd5a118a24859/20081378/Tocher%20et%20al%202024%20Food%20Chemistry%20456.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139414

Atlantic salmon were fed either a diet reflecting current commercial feeds with added oil supplied by a blend of fish oil and rapeseed oil (COM), or a diet formulated with oil from transgenic Camelina sativa containing 20% EPA + DHA (TCO). Salmon were grown from smolt to market size (>3 kg) in sea pens under semi-commercial conditions. There were no differences in growth, feed efficiency or survival between fish fed the TCO or COM diets at the end of the trial. Levels of EPA + DHA in flesh of salmon fed TCO were significantly higher than in fish fed COM. A 140 g fillet from TCO-fed salmon delivered 2.3 g of EPA + DHA, 67% of the weekly requirement level recommended by many health agencies, and 1.5-fold more than the 1.5 g of EPA + DHA for COM-fed fish. Oil from transgenic Camelina supported growth and improved the nutritional quality of farmed salmon in terms of increased “omega-3” supply for human consumers.