Effects of L-Carnitine and L-Arginine enriched Nannochloropsis oculata on fatty acid profiles and growth of Artemia franciscana

Nutritional value and some special properties of Artemia have led to this creature being considered as a living food and biological model in aquaculture industry and research. L-carnitine and L-arginine as nutritional supplements are conditionally essential nutrients that play vital role in energy production and fatty acid metabolism. In this study, effects of different concentrations (0, 1, 10, 100 and 1000 mg/L) of L-carnitine and L-arginine on growth process and profile of fatty acids of A. franciscana were investigated separately. Artemia larvae were fed using L-carnitine and L-arginine enriched with N. Oculata microalgae separately for 30 days. Results of this study showed that total share of SAF saturated fatty acid of A. franciscana fed with N. oculata rich in L-carnitine was 157.99 mg/g and rich in L-arginine 148.64 mg/g and total share of MUFA rich in L-Carnitine was 74.89 mg/g and rich in L-arginine 78.87mg/g (p <0.05). Also in biometric results, double mutation of the 1000 mg/L-carnitine concentration treatment on the sixth day compared to the third confirmed the high effect of this supplement in instar 6 stage (p <0.05). Results of this study showed that the use of appropriate and complete diets as well as growth stimulants can be effective in increasing the qualitative and quantitative volume of production in aquaculture farms, including zooplankton such as A. franciscana, which have many applications as live food.