TRACE MINERAL AMINO ACID COMPLEXES (Availa^® Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe) AND Zn-L-SELENOMETHIONINE (Availa^® Se) IN WHITE LEG SHRIMP Litopenaeus vannamei DIETS ENHANCE COOKED COLOR

Shrimp c oloration depends on  carotenoid pigment  content  and has significant impact on market value. To enhance  shrimp  red color ,  many  carotenoids like astaxanthin , canthaxanthin , zeaxanthin, lutein and other pigments are added to diets.  In addition, trace mineral s with anti-oxidative properties, like zinc, copper, manganese, iron and selenium may help promote expression of  shrimp  red color .  This study wa s  conducted to investigate effects of trace  mineral  amino acid complexes supplementation on  the expression of  red color in white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). The study  was a completely randomized design with  5 treatments  (Table 1)  and  5 replications per treatment.  T1 was supplemented with 75 mg/kg astaxanthin ,  without canthaxanthin or  trace  mineral  (TM) amino acid  (AA) complexes . Remaining 4 diets  were  all  supplemented with 25 mg/kg astaxanthin, 25 mg/kg canthaxanthin and assigned different TM-AAcomplexes supplementation:  T2 noTM-AAcomplexes supplementation ,  T3 supplemented with Fe and Se ,  T4 and T5  supplemented with Fe, Se, Zn, Mn and Cu . Diets T 4 and T 5 differed in their Zn, Mn and Cu levels that in diet T 5 were 2 x the levels supplemented to Diet T 4.  The experimental period  had a duration of  3 weeks. S hrimp fed T4 had  better feed utilization and survival rate (P<0.05) .  Moreover,  the color of  cooked  shrimp  was not affected by reducing astaxanthin from 75 ppm (control diet) down to only 25ppm when combined with supplementation of both canthaxanthin and TM-AA complexes (T3-T5).  Shrimp fed diets supplemented with TM-AA complexes for 3 weeks had  highest  redness (a* value , P <0.05) and  SalmonFan  score  number  of 28  vs  23  of the control  T1 group.  Shrimp fed diets containing astaxanthin and canthaxanthin in combination with the trace mineral complexes of iron, selenium, zinc, manganese and copper can improve the  cooked shrimp  color  to  consumer acceptance score within  three weeks.

Keyword :  cooked shrimp color ,  shrimp color intensity, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin,  iron  amino acid  complex,      Zn-L-selenomethionine ,  zinc amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex, copper amino acid complex