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Traditional morphometric measurements and meristic counts were used to investigate the hypothesis of population fragmentation of Mash mahi, Aspius aspius taeniatus (Eichwald, 1831) among two fishing areas in southern Caspian Sea basin(Tonekabon:32 specimens  and Sari:34 specimens ). Univariate analysis of variance showed significant differences between the means of the two groups for 12 out of 26 standardized morphometric measurement and three out of nine meristic counts. In discriminant function analysis (DFA), the proportion of individuals correctly classified into their original groups was 82.1% and 61.2% for morphometric and meristic characteristics, respectively. Clustering based on Euclidean distances among groups of centroids using an UPGMA and also principal component analysis’ results (PCA) for morphometric and meristic data indicated that two samples of Mash mahi were distinct from each other in these regions, while there were a relatively high degree of overlap between two locations.

 

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The effect of five isonitrogenous diets (36.6% protein), formulated by replacing 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of fish meal (FM) with rice protein concentrate (RPC), was investigated on the growth and tail-muscle fatty acid (FA) quality of juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. The feeds were fed to shrimp (initial weight of 6.99 ± 0.08 g) five times daily to apparent satiation for 60 days. Final weight of shrimp fed with FM, 25 and 50% RPC was higher than that of shrimp fed with 75 and 100% RPC. Survival in shrimp was not significantly affected by dietary protein source and level (p>0.05). Regarding FAs, ∑n6 and PUFA increased significantly as the RPC levels increased, but the n-3/n-6 ratio, EPA+DHA, MUFA, SFA and ∑n3 were significantly declined (p<0.05). However, tail-muscle FA composition reflected the inclusion of plant protein. Lipid quality indices (AI and TI) showed significant variation, but were very favourable for the consumers’ health. The present study suggests that RPC can replace FM up to 50% in diets for L. vannamei with no significant effect on the growth, but a decreasing trend in quality of tail-muscle FAs was observed when the RPC level increased.

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Tests on pysicochemical parameters in the recent years have confirmed the existence of drug residues and their metabolites in different parts of aquatic environments the permanent release of which has led to micro-persistent pollution. The drugs are designed in a way to be chemically stable, resistant to degradation and to survive by using their biological effects on the organisms. In the present research study, toxicity and the effect of carbamazepine on Cyprinus carpio was examined using blood responses. Thus, the effects of three different concentrations of carbamazepine (1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg L^-1) on the changes of blood factors such as red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), mean cellular volume (MCV), mean cellular hemoglobin (MCH), mean cellular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte (Lymph), neutrophil (Neut) and monocyte (Mono) were studied on blood samples collected on days 7, 14 and 21 after exposure to the drug. The results showed that RBC, WBC and lymph counts were reduced in fishes treated with carbamazepine (CBZ). In contrast, the value of Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, Neut and Mono were increased after exposure to carbamazepine. No significant difference was observed in the MCHC levels in all concentrations. Changes in hematological parameters can act as a biomarker in testing the toxicity of CBZ in aquatic environments. However, detailed studies regarding the application of special biomarkers for assessing human drugs is required.

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The sea cucumber (Bohadschia ocellata) is a species with great density, reproduction rate and growth in the Persian Gulf. A Very  few human consumption in Islamic countries makes this species a good choice to be used as a supplementary or stimulant ingredient in cultured aquatic animals. The present study evaluates the effects of dietary levels of B. ocellata meal on growth performance, blood biochemical parameters, digestive enzymes activities and body composition of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei). White shrimp juveniles (6.6±0.1 g) were fed with different levels of the B. ocellata meal (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 % of the diet) during 8-weeks period. According to the results weight gain, specific growth rate, and daily feed intake trends showed significant (p<0.05) increase with increasing level of sea cucumber meal from 0% to 4%. The greatest feed conversion ratio and least protein efficiency ratio were recorded in the 8% treatment. In blood biochemical outputs, the least cholesterol and the highest glucose levels were recorded for the 4% and 6% treatments, respectively. Digestive enzymes activity assessments showed that protease activity was significantly increased from 4% to 8% treatments. In general, adding 4-6% of B. ocellata meal to commercial diet of P. vannamei juveniles clearly improved some body biochemical activities such as protease enzymes activity and blood cholesterol content, and enhanced growth performance of white shrimp.

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Carotenoprotein as a marine bioactive compound was recovered from banana shrimp by-product using protease from rainbow trout viscera at various levels (5 and 15 units/g shrimp shell). The yield of carotenoprotein increased with increasing enzyme concentration up to 51.6%, which was consistent with increasing degree of hydrolysis. Protein and lipid content of the hydrolysate was 79.6 and 9.4 percent, respectively. The hydrolysate had a high nutritional value with a high amount of essential amino acids (465 mg/g) compared to the control (254 mg/g). The carotenoprotein exhibited a dose-dependent increase in antiradical activity measured by two in vitro assays, with an efficiency of 94 and 57 percent for DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities, respectively. Protease-extracted carotenoprotein showed higher ACE inhibiting effect than the control at different concentrations (p<0.05). The results from this study showed that carotenoprotein from banana shrimp have both radical scavenging activity and antihypertensive properties and a high content of essential amino acids, and could be good source for value-added nutritive food ingredients.

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Some functional, physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Hypophthalmichthys molitrix protein hydrolysates produced by alcalase (SCPH-alcalase), acid (SCPH-acidic) and alkaline (SCPH-alkaline) were investigated. No significant difference was observed for degree of hydrolysis (DH), L*, a* and b* values among all types of hydrolysate samples (p>0.05). The highest protein recovery, protein and essential amino acids content were observed in SCPH-alcalase. All protein hydrolysates displayed antioxidant activities, that enhanced by increasing the hydrolysates concentration. The chemical hydrolysates had the highest DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, while SCPH-alcalase showed the highest ABTS (2, 2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical-scavenging activity and FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power) (p<0.05). The highest solubility and the lowest fat adsorption were observed with the SCPH-alcalase (p<0.05). Increased numbers of hydrophilic groups of SCPH-alcalase are supported by FTIR spectra. The results showed the significant effect of different hydrolysis conditions on hydrolysates properties and indicated alcalase enzyme might be more suitable to produce hydrolysates with desirable functional, nutrition and antioxidative properties.

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In the current study, the combination of ultrasound and microwave methods (UM) has been used for the extraction of fucoidan from Nizamuddinia zanardinii and the effect of this method on the chemical and monosaccharide composition, molecular weight, cytotoxic (against human cervical cancer cell (HeLa) and hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HepG₂)), and immunomodulatory activities of the recovered fucoidan have also been investigated. The fucoidan yield under UM method was 5.53%. The extracted fucoidan chemically included 45.87% carbohydrate, 10.17% protein, 27.16% sulphate, and 1.1% uronic acid. The fucose (35.65%), mannose (28.94%), galactose (26.35%), xylose (7.74%), and glucose (1.33%) were the main monosaccharides of the extracted fucoidan. The average molecular weight of fucoidan was 748 kDa. The results also demonstrated that the extracted fucoidan had 62.41-78.08% and 62.45-70.29 % cytotoxic activity for HeLa and HepG₂ cells, respectively. The nitric oxide (NO) production of RAW264.7 cells was increased with increasing the concentration of fucoidan and maximum NO production was found to be 37.79 µmol at 50 μg/mL.

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The present investigation aimed to study the anatomical characteristics of Virgularia gustaviana (Herklots, 1863) from the Strait of Hormuz in the northwest of the Persian Gulf. In this regard, 25 sea pens, which were identified as V. gustaviana (Herklots, 1863), were collected from the intertidal zone of the Suru and Bandar Abbas coasts (the northeast of the Persian Gulf). The samples were fixed in the alcohol formalin glacial acetic (AFA) fixative for a week and were then studied using a stereomicroscope. According to the results, the body of V. gustavia anatomically consisted of two main parts (rachis and peduncle), both of which originate from a primary polyp. The rachis was the upper part of the body with leaf-like leaves. The peduncle, with a smooth, straightforward structure, was the lower part of the body. The caudal part of the peduncle was bubble-like. A mineralized axis was observed at the center along the body, surrounded by mesenteric septa. Although all sea pens share the same basic anatomical structure, colony shape varies considerably in different species in terms of evolution.