INGREDIENTS PROFILE
Linseed, an ignored plant source of essential fatty acids Humaira Amman, Shafaq Fatima, RSN Janjua, Lahore College for Women University
A massive investment in scientific research has taken place to address the challenges of using plant proteins and oils in fish feed formulation. In developing countries where fish oil is not an ingredient of fish feed due to its high cost, the use of economical plant oils rich in n-3 PUFAs can remarkably improve feed quality. Soybean has been widely used in aquafeeds and supports healthy and efficient fish growth. However, its polyunsaturated alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) content is low (6.8%) when compared with other vegetable oils such as linseed oil (LO), with a 53.3% of ALA.
Production of linseed Flax (Linum usitatissimum) belongs to Linaceae family. It is an annual herb that produces small flat and oval seeds. Flaxseed, commonly known as linseed, is a source of fiber and ALA. The main product obtained from linseed is oil and a residual paste that is used as an animal feed ingredient. It is produced in 34 countries, mainly in Russia, India, China, United States, Canada and Ethiopia (Fig. 1). The remaining world production of linseed are 2,793,344 tons (Goyal et al., 2014). Composition of linseed Linseed is rich in fat, protein and dietary fiber and it is valued by its good flavor and nutritional properties. It contains 40% oil, 30% fiber, 20% protein, 4% ash and 6% moisture. Out of this 40% of oil proportion, LO fatty acids levels are 9% of saturated, 18% of monounsaturated and 73% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The PUFAs content comprises 16% omega-6 fatty acids, primarily as linoleic acid (LA), and 57% alpha-linolenic acid (Zuket et al., 2015; Goyal et al., 2017).
Linseed in fish feed Linseed has attained the attention of scientists, researchers and industry due to high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids. Even though flaxseed oil, unlike fish oil, does not contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), it is gaining popularity in India and Western countries due to its high ALA content that can be converted into EPA and DHA with the help of enzymes elongase and desaturase in fresh water fish (Nayak et al., 2017).
Figure 1. Production of linseed at global level.
Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation Vol 11 Issue 3 2019
