Effect of dietary vitamins C and E fortification on lipid metabolism in red sea bream Pagrus major and black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegeli

:  To determine the effect of vitamins C and E on lipid metabolism and interactions between them, L-ascorbyl-2-monophosphate-Mg (APM) and α-tocopherol acetate (TA) were fortified to a commercially based diet and fed to 0-year red sea bream Pagrus major and 1-year black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegeli. Fortification of APM and TA, respectively, increased ascorbate (ASC) and α-tocopherol (α-Toc) contents in the organs. In addition, APM fortification increased α-Toc accumulation in both fishes, although TA fortification did not significantly affect the ASC content. Fortification of APM caused a depression in lipid accumulation in the intraperitoneal fat body and liver in red sea bream. Furthermore, a decrease in the serum thiobarbituric acid value in black sea bream and a reduction of the adipocyte diameter in the APM-fortified groups of both fishes were observed. However, fortification of TA did not affect these parameters as significantly as did fortification of APM. The shortest recovery time to air-dipping was found in the APM + TA-fortified group, followed by the APM-fortified group in red sea bream. The results implied an effect of vitamin C on lipid metabolism, and acceleration of vitamin E absorption and/or suppression of vitamin E degradation.