Lipid and fatty acid content in wild white seabream (Diplodus sargus) broodstock at different stages of the reproductive cycle.

The lipid and fatty acid content of the gonads, liver and muscle of wild white seabream males and females was studied at different stages of the reproductive cycle. Samples were taken from mature white seabream at pre-spawning (November), mid-spawning (March) and post-spawning (June) stages. The results showed that lipid accumulates in gonads and muscle from November to March. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) was also increased during this period. Male gonads showed a greater increase in polar lipid (PL) than neutral (NL), while female gonads displayed the reverse. The increase in both neutral and polar lipid was higher in the muscle of males than in females. In the same period, male livers showed no changes either in lipid content or the hepatosomatic index (HSI), while female livers registered an increase in both lipid content and HSI. Between March and June, in both males and females, total, neutral and polar lipid decreased sharply in the gonads and muscle. Muscular lipid content reduction was more pronounced in males than females. On the other hand, the lipid content of the liver in males and females remained relatively constant. In general terms, the amounts of major fatty acids (16:0, 18:1n-9, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3) in gonadal and muscular polar and neutral lipid in both males and females increased from November to March and declined thereafter. Variations of the liver fatty acid content were less extreme. In the period from mid-spawning to post-spawning, the presence of 20:4n-6 in polar and neutral lipid increased to a notable extent in all organs studied.