Reduction of the Oxidative Stress of the Fatty Body of Caiman latirostris by Enrichment of the Diet with Flax.

GONZÁLEZ, M.; VERA CANDIOTI, L.; MANCINI, S.; GERSTLER, C.; RADOSEVICH, A.; BERNAL, C.; SIMONCINI, M.

Santa Fe

Congreso; XXV Working Meeting Crocodiles Specialist Group - UICN.; 2018

Crocodile Specialist Group/IUCN

It is recognized the high economic value that crocodile leather has in the fashionindustry. Currently, meat is beginning to be valued as a food of special interest forhuman nutrition, as a source of high quality animal protein, low fat content andbalanced fatty acid profile. However, there are other derivatives of these animals, whichare discarded as the fat body and other minor lipid deposits, which could be used assources of natural oils with potential applications, both in food and in cosmetics. Theobjective of this work was to compare the oxidative state of Caiman latirostris fatdeposits bred in the Proyecto Yacaré, with three diets: Control (C): ground chicken headand dry balanced feed 70%/30%; Flaxseed (GF): control+10% ground flaxseed and OilFlaxseed (OF): control+10% flax oil. The enriched diets were offered once a week, for15 days. After these periods, the samples of the fatty body and the minor adiposedeposits were collected to determine the peroxidative damage through the substancesreactive to thiobarbituric acid. In addition, the activities of key enzymes involved in theprevention of oxidative damage such as Catalase and Glutathione Peroxidase weremeasured. Significant differences were found in GF and OF groups respect to controlgroup. Lipoperoxidation of fats decreased four times in GF and OF groups respect to C.The activities of the enzymes Catalase and Glutathione Peroxidase increased double inboth groups enriched with flaxseed compared to the control. On the other hand, nodifferences were found in the variables studied between GF and OF groups. From theresults obtained we can conclude that the enrichment diet of the caiman (with groundflaxseed or flaxseed oil) would be an important tool for the preservation of fats and theirproperties.