Excess dietary arginine affects urea excretion but does not improve N utilisation in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and turbot Psetta maxima

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of dietary arginine (Arg) supplementation to either a plant protein-based diet or a fish meal-based diet on nitrogen (N) utilisation and ureogenesis in turbot and rainbow trout. Juvenile turbot (7.4 g) and rainbow trout (9.3 g) were fed for 12 weeks two types of diets (plant protein-based (PM) and fish meal-based (FM)) containing different levels of Arg (1.6%, 3% and 4% diet for PM diets and, 3% and 4% for FM diets). Besides, measurement of growth parameters and protein utilisation, ammonia and urea excretion rates were monitored. Plasma ammonia and urea concentrations and activities of selected enzymes of ornithine urea cycle (carbamoyl phosphate synthetase III, ornithine carbamoyltransferase and arginase) were measured. Both species fed PM-based diets had reduced growth performance compared to fish fed FM-based diets. Amino acid imbalance of the PM-based diets had a significant effect on plasma ammonia levels and ammonia excretion. Dietary Arg supplementation did not lead to any improvement in N utilisation or on ammoniogenesis. In both species, there was a linear relationship between dietary Arg and urea excretion. Our data confirm that ornithine urea cycle is incomplete in the liver and that argininolysis plays a major role in ureogenesis in both species.