Induced swimming modified the antioxidant status of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

ySwimming has relevant physiological changes in farmed fish, although the potential link between swimming and oxidative stress remains poorly studied. We investigated the effects of different medium-term moderate swimming conditions for 6 h on the antioxidant status of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), analyzing the activity of enzymes related to oxidative stress in the liver and skeletal red and white muscle. Forty fish were induced to swim individually with the following conditions: steady low (SL, 0.8 body length (BL)center dot s(-1)), steady high (SH, 2.3 BL center dot s(-1)), oscillating low (OL, 0.2-0.8 BL center dot s(-1)) and oscillating high (OH, 0.8-2.3 BL center dot s(-1)) velocities, and a non-exercised group with minimal water flow (MF, < 0.1 BL center dot s(-1)). All swimming conditions resulted in lower activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) in the liver compared to the MF group, while steady swimming (SL and SH) led to higher reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH/GSSG) compared to the MF condition. Swimming also differently modulated the antioxidant enzyme activities in red and white muscles. The OH condition increased lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in the red muscle, decreasing the GSH/GSSG ratio, whereas the SL condition led to increased GSH. Oscillating swimming conditions (OL and OH) led to lower CAT activity in the white muscle, although GPx activity was increased. The GSH/GSSG ratio in white muscle was increased in all swimming conditions. Liver and skeletal muscle antioxidant status was modulated by exercise, highlighting the importance of adequate swimming conditions to minimize oxidative stress in gilthead seabream.

Automated summary

Swimming has physiological effects on farmed fish, but the potential link between swimming and oxidative stress is still poorly understood. This study investigated the impact of different moderate swimming conditions on the antioxidant status of gilthead seabream, revealing that swimming modulated the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the liver and skeletal muscle. Adequate swimming conditions were found to minimize oxidative stress in gilthead seabream.