Table 1.
Diet formula.
Fig 1.
The general compositions of the FFAP.
The pie chart represents the general compositions of FFAP. This form of astaxanthin contains large amount of crude fiber and therefore can be used as a source of high fiber food.
Table 2.
The feed efficiency (%) of all test groups.
Table 3.
The organ coefficients (%) of all test groups.
Table 4.
Plasma and liver lipid concentrations in all test group.
Fig 2.
The fatty acid composition in the liver of test groups.
The unsaturated fatty acids EPA (C20:5n3) and DHA (C22:6n3) are shown in blue and red. FFAP diets increased the EPA and DHA ratios in the liver fatty acid composition.
Table 5.
Liver functions in all test groups.
Fig 3.
Liver anti-oxidant activities of all test groups.
(a) Liver TEAC, (b) liver Vitamin C, (c) catalase activity, (d) GSH, (e) Vitamin E and (f) SOD activity. FFAP diets significantly increased liver TEAC, catalase activity, GSH and Vitamin E; and to some extent, SOD activity and plasma TEAC, compared to control, p<0.05. Moreover, although not significantly different, FFAP diets increased liver TEAC compared to high cholesterol control. All values are Mean ± SD, n = 9. All data were tested using Duncan’s range test where in the same column values not sharing a common letters are significantly different from one another. Normal: Normal diet; Control: Normal diet + 0.2% cholesterol; 1.6FFAP control diet + 1.6%FFAP; 3.2FFAP: control diet + 3.2% FFAP; 8.0FFAP: control diet + 8.0%FFAP.
Fig 4.
Liver and plasma MDA and 8-ISOP activities and reducing power.
FFAP diets significantly decreased (a) liver MDA, (b) plasma MDA, (c) liver 8-ISOP, and significantly increased the liver reducing power (d). p<0.05. All values are Mean ± SD, n = 9. All data were tested using Duncan’s range test where in the same column values not sharing a common letters are significantly different from one another. Normal: Normal diet; Control: Normal diet + 0.2% cholesterol; 1.6FFAP control diet + 1.6%FFAP; 3.2FFAP: control diet + 3.2% FFAP; 8.0FFAP: control diet + 8.0%FFAP.
Table 6.
The correlations between plasma and liver malondialadhyde (MDA) and antioxidant activities of all test groups.
Table 7.
Astaxanthin absorption percentage and distribution.
Fig 5.
Comparison of the anti-oxidative activities and lipid metabolism between different FFAP diet groups.