Determination of the antioxidant anserine in muscle of juvenile and mature rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

Abstract

The relative importance of the anserine as an antioxidant in the muscle was investigated in juvenile (80-120 g) and mature (670-690 g) rainbow trout. The content of the anserine, taurine, L-ascorbic acid, D,L-a-tocopherol, lipid and lipid peroxides were analysed in fish of each age. There was a marked increase in the peroxidizable lipid and the anserine content in the mature trout compared to that in the juveniles. On the other hand lipid peroxides, malondialdehyde did not increase in mature trout. The antioxidant activity of the anserine was greater in mature than juvenile trout when measured with chemiluminescence (CL) assay. This result may indicate that anserine is a very important antioxidant preventing lipid peroxidation in muscle of rainbow trout during the growth.