Efecto del alga marina Sargassum spp. sobre las variables productivas y la concentración de colesterol en el camarón café, Farfantepenaeus californiensis (Holmes, 1900)

The demand of feed for shrimp is growing worldwide. Therefore the search for new non-conventional ingredients, such as seaweeds is important for the elaboration of shrimp feed. Additionally, in view of the high concentration of cholesterol in shrimp, if was tested if the inclusion of the marine algae Sargassum can reduce the cholesterol content. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a diet that contains Sargassum spp. on the productive parameters and the cholesterol concentration of brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus californiensis). The trial was carried out during 45 days. Two diets were tested: one commercial diet (control treatment) and another with 4% dry weight of Sargassum meal. Four 60 L-tanks were used as replicas for each treatment. At the end of the bioassays, samples of shrimp muscle were taken, freeze-dried and total lipids, cholesterol content, triglycerides and proteins were determined. There were not significant differences in weight increments, size, survival rate and feed conversion between the two treatments. The cholesterol concentration in the shrimp fed with the diet that contained Sargassum was significantly (P<0,05) lower (77 mg/ 100 g) than in the shrimp fed with the control diet (110 mg/100 g). Our results show that is possible to include 4% of Sargassum meal in the diet for brown shrimp, without detrimental effects in their productive parameters and with a reduction of the cholesterol content.