A 50-day feeding trial was carried out to determine the effect of the graded incorporation of crude palm oil on the whole-body mineral composition of African catfish juveniles Heterobranchus longifilis. Six diets were formulated to contain from 3–21% crude palm oil (CPO). Whole-body macromineral composition represented by calcium (Ca), potassium (K), sodium (Na), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) showed significant variations (p < 0.05) with the different dietary palm oil levels. The same trend was observed in whole-body micromineral composition in iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu). Regardless of the micromineral, the increase in the body was related with increasing dietary palm oil levels between 3 and 9%. In summary, the results of this study suggest that an incorporation of palm oil into the fish diet modifies the mineral body composition without major effects on health and nutritional quality of fish.
Part of the book: Palm Oil