Trace minerals found in mammals and birds are very important in the metabolism of the aquaculture species. The inclusion of trace mineral in aquafeeds is a guarantee to reach a good level of growth and development.

1. July | August 2013
Chelated minerals in aquaculture
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3. T
race minerals found in mammals
and birds are very important in
the metabolism of the aquaculture
species. The inclusion of trace
mineral in aquafeeds is a guarantee to reach
a good level of growth and development.
The main functions we have to highlight
are the essential role in the skeleton and
soft tissues involved in nerve transmission,
as well as in the maintenance of pressure
and regulation of blood pH. They are part
of many enzymes, vitamins, hormones and
act as enzyme activators. Trace minerals act
by modulating the immune system and are
essential in preventing deficiency and patho-
logical diseases of different kinds.
The mineral requirements in aquaculture
species are well defined, although in recent
years much research has been done on the
way to provide them. Fish are able to absorb
minerals from the environment through the
gills, although they need a nutritional mineral
supplement in the diet. Traditionally, the min-
eral supplementation has been carried out by
the intake of inorganic minerals.
In the last few decades it has been shown
that interactions between different miner-
als, when added inorganically, greatly hinder
absorption. This effect has been tradition-
ally compensated by increasing mineral doses.
However, this increase of inclusion levels has
lead to negative effects on the environment.
The use of organic minerals (chelated
minerals), with better absorption and lower
interaction problems, allows us to meet the
needs of the aquaculture species without
overdosing diets, avoiding environmental
problems, maximizing growth, and lowering
the inclusion cost.
Contribution and bioavailability
of minerals in aquaculture
The contribution of minerals to fish and
shrimp farming comes from feed ingredients,
as well as from the contribution provided by
the mineral concealer and the absorption abil-
ity, through the skin and gills, of those minerals
dissolved in water.
Mineral requirements differ among species
of fresh water and seawater, due to the dif-
ferent capacity to absorb minerals from water,
which is caused by the different osmotic pres-
sure in both groups.
In aquafeed, minerals usually are added
to the feed in an inorganic form, combined
with other chemical elements, such as
carbonates, phosphates, sulfates and oxides.
In this embodiment, the inorganic mineral
absorption doesn’t show a high efficiency.
A high percentage of minerals are not
absorbed in the intestine. When they inter-
act with other elements, they do not reach
the bloodstream to go to the different
organs and tissues.
The absorption
efficiency of inor-
ganic minerals in
aquaculture is at an
average/lower level,
below 20 percent.
For this reason, in
animal nutrition
there is a tendency
to incorporate high
amounts of minerals,
to ensure the real
needs of the organ-
ism.
It is important to
stress that the pres-
ence of certain substances in the diet such
as phytate, or high calcium or phosphorus
content, also decrease mineral absorption
capacity.
In herbivorous fish species, whose diets
have a high percentage of vegetable raw
materials, it is necessary to provide a higher
amount of minerals an inorganic form, given
the high phytate content.
The bioavailability of minerals is also condi-
tioned by the digestibility of feed, the particle
size, the synergistic or antagonistic interac-
tions, health status of the fish, the species, and
the chemical state of the mineral (Watanabe
et al. 1997).
Chelation - an effective solution
to increase the bioavailability
Chelation is a process which occurs natu-
rally in the body of living creatures. As clear
examples of chelation we have hemoglobin
with iron, chlorophyll with manganese, or
cobalt with vitamin B12, which allows the
mineral (metal), in an inorganic form, to be
Chelated minerals in aquaculture
by A Rodriguez, i Lopez, E Sujka, S De la Cuesta, C Lopez, R Nieto, Liptosa technical team, Spain
infrared spectrophotometry of a Zn glycinate
22 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2013
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5. transformed to an organic form, increasing
availability. Inorganic minerals are chelated in
the intestine, in order to enable their trans-
port across the intestinal wall.
Aquaculture nutrition, like in mammal and
bird nutrition, found an alternative in the
chelation process, which is a very effective
alternative to greatly increase the absorption
of essential minerals.
Chelation is a highly effective technology
for the protection of inorganic minerals, and
currently is a widespread practice in animal
nutrition. It allows essential minerals to be
managed more rationally, increasing their bio-
availability. This also helps avoid excretion into
the environment due to lack of absorption
and contributes positively to reduce environ-
mental pollution.
Minerals, by default or excess of absorp-
tion may be harmful to health. The interac-
tion between chelated minerals is much
lower than the one that occurs when miner-
als are presented on inorganic form. In turn,
inorganic minerals act on B vitamins, enabling
oxidation. An example of mineral interaction
is the one that takes place between the iron
and zinc.
It has been shown that a mineral chelate
could be up to four times more bioavailable
when is presented inorganically. Therefore,
chelation becomes a very useful process
for optimizing diets, according to the needs,
either in isolation or in a chelated mineral
complex, specifically formulated for a target
species.
Amino acid chelated minerals
It is very important to highlight that
although amino acids are not the only chelat-
ing agents used, the organic minerals with
the greatest bioavailability are amino acid
chelated minerals. The amino acid molecule
acts as a protection of mineral interactions
with the substances present in the gastric
juice.
Chelates of molecular weight below 800
dalton, are capable of crossing the membranes
of the intestinal cells without being hydrolyzed
in the lumen. However, chelates bigger than
dipeptides, cannot be transported efficiently
and end up being hydrolyzed in the gut.
During the 1990s the first chelated miner-
als with methionate
began to be pro-
duced. Subsequently,
in 2003 proteinate
chelation started
and by 2006 the EU
approved Glycinates
chelation.
Glycine, due to
its high protein con-
tent, allows a very
strong link with the
mineral, allowing
the preparation of
chelated minerals,
characterised by its
high stability and
bioavailability.
The body's abil-
ity to absorb single
amino acids is very
high. Glycine is the
most efficient amino
acid because of its
easy absorption into
the intestinal wall,
due to its low molec-
ular weight.
Glycine added to
the diet can protect
the body against
endotoxins and can
face the shock caused
by bleeding. It also
reduces liver damage
induced by hepato-
toxic drugs and acts
against inflammation
by reducing cytokine
formation.
The stability coef-
ficient of chelated
minerals to assess
absorption ability
must be in the range
of 4-5. Glycinate
provides a better
stability coefficient
than methionates; for
example the stabil-
ity constant of zinc
glycinate is 5.26 com-
pared to the 4.38
of zinc methionine.
The stability coeffi-
cient of iron glyci-
nate is about 10.0
versus 9.1 from iron
methionate. Infrared
spectrophotometry
is the technique used
to evaluate the qual-
ity of chelation and
therefore its bioavail-
ability.
Zinc deficiency in salmon
NUTRACEUTICALS AND PHYTOBIOTICS
FOR AQUACULTURE
Growth promoters
Anti-parasites
Attractants
Hepatoprotectors
Antioxidants
Detoxifiers
Chelated minerals
ADDITIVES FOR AQUACULTURE SOLUTIONS
C/ San Romualdo 12-14 • 28037 Madrid (Spain)
+34 902 15 77 11 • +34 91 725 08 00
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July-August 2013 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | 23
FEATURE

7. Importance of minerals Zn
and Fe in aquaculture
Zinc and iron also play an important role
in fish and shrimp metabolism. Zinc require-
ments are estimated between 15-40 mg /
kg, and iron between 30-170 mg / kg of diet,
depending on the specie. (Watanabe et al.
(1988). Hilton (1989) Lall (1989) and Steffens
(1989).
Zinc is an essential mineral as it is a com-
ponent of a large number of metalloenzymes
such as carbonic anhydrase, which is involved
in the transport of carbon dioxide in the
blood, and the alkaline phosphatase.
In turn, it acts as cofactor in many enzymatic
processes involved in the metabolism of lipids,
proteins and carbohydrates. Also, it has been
reported its role in the synthesis of RNA and
DNA, as well as in proteins, hormones, in proc-
esses of wound healing, and anti stress effect.
Zinc deficiencies in fish diets cause poor
growth, poor appetite, blindness, develop-
mental problems in the skeleton, with smaller
vertebrae, and bone matrix with a lower
hardness.
Zinc deficiency reduces the digestibility of
proteins and carbohydrates, probably due to
poor activity of the enzyme carboxypeptidase
(Ogino and Yang, 1978). Abnormalities in the
skin and fins due to zinc deficiencies have also
been reported.
Iron, like zinc, is an essential component of
many enzymes and various enzymatic systems.
It is an essential component of hemoglobin
and myoglobin and is a key factor in the trans-
port of oxygen within the body.
Iron content in fish is relatively low
compared with that of vertebrates (Van
Dijk et 1975) although at gill level, absorp-
tion also occurs. This takes place in the
intestinal mucosa is where iron content
is higher.
The extended iron deficiency in fish causes
anemia and poor growth, as well as an
increasing sensitivity to infections. The major
contribution of the iron in fish comes from the
diet, due to the low concentration of iron in
farm water (NRC 1993).
Iron is one of the minerals involved in lipid
oxidation processes. Ferric salts catalyze the
formation of hydroperoxides and free radi-
cals, providing a free radical in presence of
unsaturated fatty acids and oxygen (Chvapil
et al., 1974, Lee et al., 1981, Fujimoto et al.,
1982).
The supply of chelated iron in the diet, at
a much lower dose than those reported in
inorganic form (due to its higher bioavailabil-
ity), is a good choice for the development of
aquaculture diets with a high content of lipids
and pigments, and for preventing oxidative
processes.
Replacement practices of animal raw mate-
rials by those of plant origin cause significant
variations in the content provided by trace
minerals. The addition of chelated minerals
provides a balance to the replacement of raw
materials, and allows effective corrections in
the diet.
Iron and zinc glycinates
The chelation with one or two molecules
of glycine has shown a great impact on aquac-
ulture due to the following advantages:
• No interaction with other compounds in
the intestine
• Stable in different pH ranges
• Stable at high temperatures
• Low molecular weight, less than 200
Dalton, which ease an absorption level
close to 100 percent
• No interaction with other substances,
macrominerales or microminerals from
the diet, favouring its absorption into the
intestinal lumen
• Chelation doesn´t have an ionizable
neutral charge, so it’s less reactive
• It is not pollutant due to its high degree
of absorption
• It doesn’t provide flavour to the feed,
but it’s more palatable than inorganic
minerals
Contribution to sustainability
In the aquaculture sector there is grow-
ing sustainability commitment to achieve
cleaner and environmentally friendly pro-
duction. The global demand for aquacul-
ture species increases every year due to
the increasing demand for animal protein
worldwide.
Fish farms have increased their degree
of specialization and efficiency greatly, so
the time invested in the development of
the production cycle and the cost of feed,
plays a key role on the profitability of the
companies.
Thanks to the efforts in genetic improve-
ment, some aquaculture species exhibit a high
level of development, showing a high growth
potential and feed efficiency. On the other
hand, other aquaculture species should go
deeper into the genetic improvement with
the aim of optimizing their production and
preserve the environment.
The addition of chelated minerals to the
diet allow us to provide certain amounts of
minerals according to the needs of the fish.
Chelated minerals provide greater bioavail-
ability and produce lower excretion rates in
comparison with inorganic minerals.
A balanced diet is one that incorporates
a greater diversity of ingredients with a com-
pensatory effect between them. From an envi-
ronmental point of view, the best diet is one
that provides a higher degree of digestibility.
Mineral bioavailability within a diet is a factor
to be considered, because of supplementation
can be reduced threefold with respect to the
contributions in inorganic form.
As a final conclusion we can say that in
aquaculture nutrition, the benefit provided by
the use of chelated minerals in the diet must
be taken into account, to allow a more bio-
available and balanced contribution.
More InforMatIon:
Website: www.liptosa.com
24 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | July-August 2013
FEATURE

8. July-August 2013 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | 25
FEATURE
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