Feeding high inclusion of whole grain white lupin (Lupinus albus) to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): Effects on growth, nutrient digestibility, liver and intestine histology and muscle fatty acid composition

The effect of dietary inclusion of whole grain white lupin (Lupinus albus) on growth performance, histology, muscle fatty acid composition and nutrient digestibility was investigated in an 11-week growth and a 4-week digestibility trial with rainbow trout (initial body weight of 54.0 ± 6.2 and 181.9 ± 3.4g respectively). Four experimental extruded diets were formulated to contain 0%, 30%, 40% and 50% of whole grain lupin and fed to triplicate groups of fish twice a day until apparent satiation. Faeces were collected daily from each digestibility tank by decantation. No significant trends were observed with respect to growth, feed utilization, apparent digestibility coefficients or whole-body composition (P>0.05). Conversely, increasing levels of dietary lupin led to significant decreases in the Hepatosomatic index (R2=0.75, P<0.05) and slight lipid infiltration into hepatocytes and enterocytes. Muscle fatty acid compositions were slightly affected by the dietary treatment. Polynomial regression of dietary inclusion of lupin and muscle fatty acid concentrations showed an increase in C18:1n-9, C18:2n-6 and C18:3n-3 and a decrease in C20:5n-3 with increasing dietary lupin level. These results demonstrated that whole grain lupin can be included up to 50% in commercial rainbow trout diets without negative effects. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd