Fatty Acids Profiles of Clarias gariepinus fed on Diets Containing (Duckweed) Lemna Minor

Most lipids including Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids are sourced from fish. These sources are under intense competition for multiple uses like preparation of livestock feeds raising the cost of aquaculture production. Studies in South West Kenya show that most feeds used do not meet nutritional requirements for aquaculture. Current research efforts are focused on identifying a cheap but highly nutritious non-terrestrial plant based lipid sources in the macrophyte duckweed (Lemna minor). Experiments were conducted to obtain fatty acid profiles of 45 African catfish (C. gariepinus) fed on L. minor diets. L minor and frozen fish tissue extracts of fish fed on test diets were analyzed using GC-mass spectrometry techniques to determine fatty acids profiles of African catfish (C. gariepinus. L. minor contained higher concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids than the fish tissue extracts. It was further found that fish bioccumulated fatty acids generally in an increasing manner in the L. minor inclusion feeds ranging from 0-25%. A total of 10 fatty acids were identified in L. minor while frozen fish tissue extracts had 20 fatty acids comprising 8 saturated fatty acids, 4 monosaturated and 8 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The Omega 3 fatty acids identified were linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid. These play an important role in human health in the prevention of diseases such as cancers and arthritis. Results of these study will be useful in the formulation of an appropriate fish feed for aquaculture production in Kenya