Abstract

Artemia is one of the most important live foods used for feeding larvae and also broodstocks of shrimp, marine fish, sturgeon and ornamental fish species, which can improve the growth performance and survival of larvae and also improve reproductive performance of these species. However, small scale centers need to purchase Artemia products from the market due to the time-consuming Artemia hatching and the need for science and equipment for Artemia hatching and cultivation. Considering the seasonal fluctuation of Artemia production and consumption, as well as the high sensitivity and perishability of Artemia even during frozen storage, this product underwent quality loss. In the present study, the effect of immersion in vitamin E solution at concentrations of 0.02, 0.2 and 0.4% on shelf life and quality of Artemia urmiana biomass during frozen storage (-18°C) was investigated. Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), peroxide value (PV), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), free fatty acid (FFA) values, pH, and proximate composition of Artemia tissue (moisture, protein, fat, ash) and the profile of fatty acids were determined for all studied treatments until the end of 8 months of storage. The results showed that vitamin E in the studied concentrations could effectively prevent the deterioration of Artemia quality during frozen storage compared to the control samples. The results indicated that vitamin E treatments in terms of pH, TVB-N, PV, TBA, FFA and nutritional value had a better condition compared to the control and with an increase in the concentration of vitamin E, better preservative effects were observed. In conclusion, the use of vitamin E is suggested to maintain the quality and extend the shelf life of Artemia during frozen storage, which is expected to show positive effects after feeding the aquatic animals with this product due to the transfer of vitamin E to the host.

Keywords: Artemia biomass, frozen storage, quality, Vitamin E