Fatty acid composition of organs and tissues of the tiger prawn Penaeus esculentus during the moulting cycle and during starvation

The fatty acids (FA) in neutral lipid (NL) and polar lipid (PL) of digestive gland, muscle and integument of Penaeus esculentus Haswell were analysed and compared during the moulting cycle and during starvation. The prawns were collected from Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, by trawling during 1985–1987, and were fed with a standard semi-purified diet. Compared with a natural diet, the artificial diet had much higher levels of 18:1n-9 and 18:2n-6, but only trace amounts of 20:4n-6, but there was no evidence of dietary imbalance. The fatty acid composition (percentage of total lipid) of the digestive gland changed markedly during the moulting cycle and during starvation, but the small changes observed in both muscle and integument suggested that these tissues maintained their composition under both conditions. When the fatty acids were calculated as absolute amounts, muscle composition, as well as that of the digestive gland, changed significantly. In the digestive gland, saturated FA (SFA), monounsaturated FA (MUFA), diunsaturated FA (DUFA) and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) all increased up to the middle of the moulting cycle and then declined; with starvation all groups decreased. In muscle, SFA, MUFA and DUFA all increased during the moulting cycle; starvation caused SFA, MUFA and PUFA to decrease, whereas DUFA did not vary. Starvation caused both 18:2n-6 (linoleic) and 18:3n-3 (linolenic) in the digestive gland to reach or almost reach zero. The other essential PUFA, 20:4n-6 (arachidonic), 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic) and 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic), decreased during the moulting cycle, but during starvation 20:4n-6 did not decrease as much. In muscle, the levels of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 increased, while 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 remained approximately constant during the moulting cycle. Starvation reduced 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 to about 60%. The data suggest that levels of 18:3n-3, 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 are regulated, and that 20:4n-6 can be synthesised from 18:2n-6. There is no clear evidence that 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 are essential in P. esculentus, but tissue catabolism of cell membranes during starvation may have provided sufficient amounts for maintenance.