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Notes: Diets, containing dehulled, solvent-extracted soybean meal in amounts corresponding to 0. 20 and 40% soybean protein of total protein, were fed for 10 months to duplicate groups of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., weighing about 900 g, held in sea water.Fish fed the diet containing 20% soybean protein grew as well as fish fed the diet with high-quality fish meal as the sole protein source, whilst the fish fed the diet containing 40% soybean protein grew significantly less. No significant differences were found for dressing percentage, condition factor or relative liver weight between the dietary treatments. Fish fed the control or the 20% soybean meal (SBM) diets were not significantly different in body fat content, whilst this was significantly lower in the fish fed the 40% SBM diet. There were no significant differences between the dietary treatments in body protein content.Inclusion of SBM seemed to affect neither carcass calcium, carcass zinc, nor plasma calcium, magnesium or potassium. The plasma zinc content increased and plasma iron decreased by inclusion of SBM in the diets, probably reflecting dietary contents of zinc and iron. Liver iron was not affected. Plasma phosphate was significantly decreased by inclusion of SBM in the diet, whilst plasma glucose, total protein and haemoglobin were not affected. For plasma free amino acids, the only significant differences were a decrease in taurine with increasing SBM inclusion and methionine was significantly higher for the SBM groups than for the control groups.

Notes: A commercially available soybean molasses (alcohol extract from soybean meal) was included at levels of 0. 5,10,15 and 20% in a fish meal based diet for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., weighing about 75 g. These inclusion levels supplied dietary alcohol soluble components corresponding to levels that would have been obtained if a standard soybean meal was included at levels up to about 70%. The fish were reared in fresh water at 9oC and with a minimum of 7 ppm O2 at outlet, and fed the experimental diets for 14 days before the faeces were stripped. Digestibility coefficients were determined using chromic oxide as an indigestible indicator. The digestibility of fat, and particularly the long-chained, saturated-and monounsaturated fatty acids, were significantly reduced by increasing the inclusion level of soybean molasses, whereas digestibility of dry matter, protein (%N x 6.25) and polyunsaturated fatty acids were not affected significantly. The present results show that alcohol-soluble components of soybeans may be responsible for a significant part of the negative effects of standard soybean meal in diets for Atlantic salmon.

Notes: Presence of lysozyme, lactoferrin, α1-antitrypsin, α1-antichymotrypsin and ferritin was examined by the immunoperoxidase method in 15 consecutive parotid gland tumors as well as in normal parotid gland tissue. Lysozyme and lactoferrin were detected in intercalated duct cells of normal tissue and in the epithelial component of pleomorphic adenomas. α1-antitrypsin, α1-antichymotrypsin and ferritin were found in both epithelial and mesenchymal components of pleomorphic adenomas but not in normal parotid tissue. In the epithelial components of adenolymphoma only α1-antichymotrypsin and lactoferrin were observed. The results would support a tentative histogenic link between the intercalated duct cell and the epithelial component of the pleomorphic adenoma.

Notes: Standard soybean meal, heat treated to differing degrees and containing varying levels of soybean lectin and trypsin inhibitor, was used to study the effect of soybean-containing diets on the morphology of the distal intestine in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. A reference diet based on fish meal and a fish meal diet mixed with an alcohol extract of soybean meal were used. The fish (145 g) were kept in 27 m3 net pens (200 fish per pen) in sea water with an average temperature of 11 °C for 12 weeks. Whereas a normal morphology of the distal intestine was seen in the fish fed the reference diet, all soybean diets caused alterations in the distal intestine irrespective of heat treatment. Similar changes were observed with the diet which had added alcohol solubles. It is concluded that alcohol-soluble components in the soybeans are responsible for the observed changes. It cannot be determined which of the soybean antinutrients is causing the alterations from the present study. Oligosaccharides and saponines are possible candidates. However, the possibility that unknown antinutrients are affecting the salmon intestine should not be overlooked.

Notes: This study was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of feeding plant products from both traditional breeding and from biotechnology on intestinal somatic indices, histology and cell proliferation in first-feeding Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. (initial weight 0.21 ± 0.02 g). A standard fishmeal diet (standard fishmeal) was formulated to contain fishmeal as the sole protein source and suprex maize as the main starch source. Six experimental diets were then developed: two in which some of the fishmeal was replaced with commercially available, genetically modified Roundup Ready® full-fat soybean meal (GM-soy) or commercially available, non-GM full-fat soybean meal (nGM-soy) at a level of 12.5% of the total diet, and four diets in which the suprex maize was replaced with two lines of GM-maize (Dekalb 1; D1 and Pioneer 1; P1), both products of event MON810, and their half-sibling non-GM counterparts (Dekalb 2; D2 and Pioneer 2; P2), at a level of 12.1% of total diet. Each diet was fed to fish in triplicate tanks and the experiment lasted for 8 months, during which the fish reached a final weight of 101–116 g. There was no significant effect of diet on the intestinal indices, nor were histological changes observed in the pyloric caeca or mid intestine. In the distal intestine, one of nine sampled fish fed nGM-soy showed moderate changes, two of nine sampled fish fed GM-soy showed changes, one with moderate and one with severe changes, and two of nine fish fed nGM-maize D2 had moderate changes. Using a monoclonal antibody against proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cell proliferative responses to the experimental diets were assessed. In fish fed both soy diets, a significantly higher (P 〈 0.05) cell proliferation response was observed in the distal intestine concomitant with an increased localization of PCNA positive cells along the whole distal intestinal folds. The PCNA response among the nGM-soy group was significantly higher compared with all the other diet groups. In contrast, for fish exposed to dietary maize (type D) compared with fish fed the standard fishmeal, the soy-diets (GM-soy and nGM-soy) and maize (type P), a significantly lower (P 〈 0.05) cell proliferation response was observed in the distal intestine. Results indicated that the GM plant products investigated in this study, at about 12% inclusion level, were as safe as commercially available non-GM products, at least in terms of their effect on indices and histological parameters of the Atlantic salmon intestinal tract.

Notes: Extracted soybean meal (SBM) in the diet for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., causes an inflammatory response in the distal intestine. The morphological changes of the epithelial cells and a characterization of the inflammatory cell infiltrate of the distal intestinal mucosa were studied using a panel of enzyme and immunohistochemical markers. The salmon (average body weight 927 g) used in the study were fed either a fishmeal-based diet (control diet) or a diet in which 30% of the fishmeal protein was replaced with SBM protein (SBM diet). In salmon fed SBM, there were markedly reduced enzyme reactivities in the distal intestinal epithelial cells, both in the brush border [5′-nucleotidase (5′N), Mg2+-ATPase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP)] and in the intracellular structures [alkaline and acid phosphatase, non-specific esterase (NSE) and alanine aminopeptidase (AAP)]. There appeared to be an increased presence of cells of monocytic lineage, including macrophages, as well as neutrophilic granulocytes and immunoglobulin (Ig) M in the lamina propria of the SBM-fed fish. The mid intestine showed little response to the diet. The results suggest that toxic/antigenic component(s) of SBM affect the differentiation of the distal intestinal epithelial cells and may help explain the reduced nutrient digestibilities previously reported in salmonids fed extracted SBM.

Notes: The development of a pathological condition in the distal intestine of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., induced by dietary soybean meal, was studied in a 6-week feeding experiment. The fully developed condition, as observed after 3 weeks on the experimental diets, was characterized by: (1) a shortening of heights of the mucosal foldings; (2) a loss of the normal supranuclear vacuolization of the absorptive cells in the intestinal epithelium; (3) a widening of the central stroma within the mucosal foldings, with increased amounts of connective tissue; and (4) a profound infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria. The first signs of morphological changes were observed after 2 days on a diet containing a solvent extracted soybean meal, and within 7 days, all the above mentioned signs were observed. When the fish were subsequently transferred to a control diet, the mucosal folds were rebuilt from the base, resulting in an apparently functional epithelium after 3 weeks. Starved fish also exhibited characteristic changes of the mucosa, including a finely granular cytoplasm replacing the supranuclear vacuoles seen in the epithelial cells of normal fish. In addition, a pattern of irregularly spaced indentations developed in the epithelium of the simple folds. The condition induced by dietary soybean meal was classified as a no n-infectious subacute enteritis, and a pathogenesis involving immunological mechanisms is suggested.

Notes: Three levels of gelatinized wheat, 70, 140 and 210 g kg−1, were included in diets for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, L., of mean initial weight around 270 g. The experiment was run for 10.5 months and there was an eight- to nine-fold increase in fish weight. No significant differences in weight increase were found between fish. No negative physiological effects, such as hyperglycaemia or excessive hepatic glycogen accumulation were observed. Concentrations of pancreatic hormones were not affected by diet, but positive correlations were found between glucagon-like peptide (GLP) and glucagon, and between insulin and glucagon. Gelatinized wheat in diets for Atlantic salmon did not seem to affect organoleptic traits of the fish flesh in any undesired way.

Notes: The utilisation of dietary carbohydrates and their effects on fish metabolism are reviewed. Details on how dietary carbohydrates affect growth, feed utilisation and deposition of nutrients are discussed. Variations in plasma glucose concentrations emphasizing results from glucose tolerance tests, and the impact of adaptation diets are interpreted in the context of secondary carbohydrate metabolism. Our focus then shifts to selected aspects of hormonal regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and dietary carbohydrates and their variable effects on glycogen and glucose turnover. We analyse the interaction of carbohydrates with other nutrients, especially protein and protein sparing, and de novo synthesis of lipids, and finish by discussing the correlation of dietary carbohydrates with fish health.