Accumulation of astaxanthin all-E, 9Z and 13Z geometrical isomers and 3 and 3' RS optical isomers in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is selective.

Concentrations of all-E-, 9Z- and 13Z- geometrical and (3R,3'R), (3R, 3'S) and (3S,3'S) optical isomers of astaxanthin were determined in rainbow trout liver, gut tissues, kidney, skin and blood plasma to evaluate their body distribution. Two cold-pelleted diets containing predominantly all-E-astaxanthin (36.9 mg/kg astaxanthin, 97% all-E-, 0.4% 9Z-, 1.5% 13Z-astaxanthin, and 1.1% other isomers, respectively) or a mixture of all-E- and Z-astaxanthins (35.4 mg/kg astaxanthin, 64% all-E-, 18.7% 9Z-, 12.3% 13Z-astaxanthin, and 2.0% other isomers, respectively), were fed to duplicate groups of trout for 69 d. Individual E/Z isomers were identified by VIS- and 1H-NMR-spectrometry, and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Significantly higher total carotenoid concentration was observed in plasma of trout fed diets with all-E-astaxanthin (P < 0.05). The relative E/Z-isomer concentrations of plasma, skin and kidney were not significantly different among groups, whereas all-E-astaxanthin was higher in intestinal tissues and 13Z-astaxanthin was lower in liver of trout fed all-E-astaxanthin (P < 0.05). The relative amount of hepatic 13Z-astaxanthin (39-49% of total astaxanthin) was higher than in all other samples (P < 0.05). Synthetic, optically inactive astaxanthin was used in all experiments, and the determined dietary ratio between the 3R,3'R:3R, 3'S (meso):3S,3'S optical isomers was 25.3:49.6:25.1. The distribution of R/S-astaxanthin isomers in feces, blood, liver and fillet was similar to that in the diets. The ratio between (3S,3'S)- and (3R,3'R)-astaxanthin in the skin and posterior kidney was ca. 2:1 and 3:1, respectively, regardless of dietary E/Z-astaxanthin composition. The results show that geometrical and optical isomers of astaxanthin are distributed selectively in different tissues of rainbow trout.