High level of dietary olive oil decreased growth, increased liver lipid deposition and induced inflammation by activating the p38 MAPK and JNK pathways in large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea).

A feeding experiment was conducted to determine the effects of fish oil replaced by olive oil (OO) on growth performance, serum biochemical, antioxidant capacity and inflammatory response in large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea). Four iso-nitrogenous and iso-lipidic diets were formulated by replacing fish oil (FO) with 0% (the control group), 33.3%, 66.7% and 100% OO. Fish fed the diet with 100% OO had the lowest growth performance among dietary treatments. However, there were no significant differences in SGR and FI among fish fed diets with 0% (the control group), 33.3% and 66.7% OO (P > 0.05). As to morphological parameters, HSI was significantly increased in fish fed the diet with 100% OO than the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the lipid content of the liver in fish fed the diet with 100% OO was significantly higher than the control group (P < 0.05). Fish fed the diet with 100% OO had the highest content of C18:1n-9 among dietary treatments. Serum total triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and activity of serum alanine transaminase (ALT) were significantly increased in fish fed the diet with 100% OO compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, dietary OO decreased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in fish fed diets with increasing dietary OO levels. However, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly increased in fish fed the diet with 100% OO compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The expression of pro-inflammatory genes, COX-2, IL-1β and TNFα, were significantly increased in the liver of fish fed the diet with 100% OO compared with the control group (P < 0.05), which was probably due to the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) pathways and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) as the increased protein ratio of p-p38 MAPK to p38 MAPK and p-JNK to JNK. These results suggested that high level of dietary OO decreased the growth performance and antioxidant capacity but induced inflammation via the activation of p38 MAPK and JNK pathways in large yellow croaker.