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Arsenic is a highly carcinogenic environmental contaminant. Curcumin, the bioactive component of turmeric, exhibits therapeutic efficacy against several chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases. The present study was carried out to investigate the impact of arsenic on eye lens and evaluate the ameliorative potential of curcumin against arsenic toxicity. Gene expression analysis of α, β, and γ-crystallins and fatty acid profile of lens tissues of arsenic-exposed Labeo rohita was examined and the protective effect of curcumin as diet supplement was evaluated. Curcumin-supplemented diet was prepared at 1.5% and 3% and fed to four groups of fish for 7 days prior to arsenic exposure (at 5 ppm and 15 ppm) for 15 days. Gene expression analysis showed downregulation of α and β-crystallins in the eye lens of arsenic-exposed groups (fed basal diet), whereas the groups fed a curcumin-supplemented diet showed insignificant alterations. Similarly, fatty acid fingerprint of lens lipids arsenic-exposed group exhibited reduction in saturated fatty acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content. However, in 3% curcumin-supplemented diet–fed and arsenic exposed group group, fatty acid profile remained unchanged. Interestingly, concentration of one non-fatty acid, an antioxidant compound (phenol 2,4-bis 1,1 dimethyl; PD) that was identified in the GC-MS fingerprinting through NIST library (version 2.2, 2014), decreased in response to arsenic exposure which was restored to normal level in curcumin-supplemented groups proving the therapeutic potential of curcumin. The findings of the study suggest that curcumin has a protective effect on eye lens against arsenic toxicity.

Fish inhabiting different aquatic habitats adapts to the environment by metabolomic readjustments. Understanding the combined activities of all the metabolic pathways (metabolome) helps in better understanding the complex interactions between gene and environment. The anadromous migratory Tenualosa ilisha is a high value food fish comprising the dominant fishery of the rivers Padma and Hooghly. The present study aimed at understanding the influence of the two habitats on the nutritional composition of hilsa. Metabolite profiling was carried out by GC/MS. De novo assembly of hilsa liver transcriptome was generated under Illumina HiSeq platform and multivariate analysis was employed for correlation and comparison. GC/MS fingerprinting showed C16:0, C18:1, C20:5 and C22:6 to be the predominant fatty acids present in hilsa liver, which were also found to be significantly higher in Hooghly hilsa. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly associated with ‘lipid metabolism’ and ‘amino acid metabolism’ pathways. Multivariate analysis between the metabolites amino acid, fatty acid and corresponding gene expression showed that few genes of amino acid metabolism (EZH1, ALAS2 and ALDH4A1) positively correlated with individual amino acids (lysine, glycine and glutamate) in Hooghly hilsa. Similarly, the key genes for LC-PUFA biosynthesis (ELOVL5, FADS2, CPT1) showed positive correlation with individual LC-PUFAs (C18:3, C20:4, C20:5, C22:6), indicating higher LC-PUFA biosynthesis potential in Hooghly hilsa. Comparative metabolomic study in hilsa from the two different habitats showed that the habitats influence the nutritional composition as evidenced by high abundance of amino acids lysine, leucine and arginine and LC-PUFAs C18:3, C20:4, C20:5, C22:6 in Hooghly hilsa.

The interaction of nutrients, environment, and genome determines the general physiological functioning and health of an organism. The branch of science which aims to understand these interactions is known as “Nutrigenomics.” Aquaculture and fisheries are the fast-growing food production systems and have an important role to play in achieving food and nutritional security. However, like other food production sectors, it also faces numerous challenges. Understanding the nutritional requirements and need-based dietary manipulation are perhaps the most effective and sustainable way of dealing with these challenges. In this review, we discuss the concept of nutrigenomics as a subset of multi-omics technology and highlight some studies encompassing nutrigenomics studies, with a specific focus on its application in fish nutrition. How these emerging techniques are applied in understanding various aspects of fish physiology as influenced by nutrition including nutritional supplements and various environmental factors like habitat, stress (temperature), and environmental contaminants have also been discussed.

Biodiesel production from microalgae has gained significant interest recently due to the growing energy demand and non-renewable nature of petroleum. However, high cost of production and environmental health related issues like excess use of inorganic fertilizers, eutrophication are the major constraints in commercial-scale biodiesel production. Besides this, solid wastes (garden-based) management is also a global concern. In the present study, to overcome these limitations vermicompost extract was tested as nutrient source to enhance growth performance and lipid production from a freshwater microalga (Graesiella emersonii MN877773). Garden wastes were first converted into vermicompost manure and its extract (aerobic and anaerobically digested) was prepared. The efficacy of the extract was then tested in combination with BG11 medium. The mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae in anaerobically digested vermicompost extract at 50:50 combination with BG11 medium enhanced the cell biomass (0.64 g d. wt. L−1) and lipid productivity (3.18 mg L−1 day−1) of microalgae by two times. Moreover, the combination also improved the saturated (methyl palmitate) and monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) content in the test algae. The quality of biodiesel also complies with all the properties of biodiesel standard provided by India, the USA, and Europe except the cold filter plugging property. The combination was also found to improve the cell biomass (0.041 g L−1) as compared to BG11 medium in mass-scale cultivation. Hence, the study proved that G. emersonii grown in media supplemented with garden waste-based vermicompost extract had significant potential for mass-scale biodiesel and bioproduct production.

The Indian shad hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha), a commercially important food fish rich in oils, enjoys high consumer preference in the South Asian countries owing to its unique flavour and culinary properties. The present study was undertaken with the primary objective of determining the flesh quality attributes of hilsa in terms of nutritive value (gross chemical composition, amino acid, fatty acid and mineral composition), pH, water holding capacity (WHC) and expression of genes associated with fatty acid metabolism and flesh quality. Additionally, comparative studies on the flesh quality attributes in hilsa from two distributaries of river Ganga i.e. Hooghly and Padma were also carried out. A high WHC (>80%) suggested juicy and tender nature of hilsa meat. The protein content was 18-21% in hilsa from both the rivers and essential amino acid lysine, valine and functional amino acids leucine and arginine were significantly higher in Hooghly hilsa (P

Aquatic pollution is one of the most common threats to the ecological health of aquatic ecosystems and its biota. Fish as lower vertebrates are excellent model to study the impact and responses of aquatic pollution. In fish, gill is the main organ indicator of whole animal health as it comes in contact with the surrounding water and absorbs many pollutants and contaminants; therefore, investigations on alterations in fish gill at transcriptome level could provide newer insights to the stress response mechanism(s) and pathways. For comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of pollutants (joint toxicity) prevalent in the riverine environment, comparative transcriptome analysis, by Next Generation Sequencing under Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform, was carried out in gill tissues of Rita rita collected from two stretches of river Ganga (Kanpur and Farakka) and results were validated by RT-qPCR. Out of 154,077 unigenes (Accession SRR548008), a total of 2024 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including 942 up-regulated and 1082 down-regulated genes were identified by DESeq program. Further, Gene Ontology (GO) of DEGs showed that ribosomal large subunit biogenesis, mitochondrial ribosome and box H/ACA SnoRNA binding categories are highly affected by pollution. Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed the involvement of the DEGs in energy metabolism, translational and transcriptional machinery, protein folding and degradation suggesting that these signalling pathways are highly affected by aquatic pollution. Among the DEGs, up-regulation of cytochrome c oxidase subunit (cox) 7a2 (69.47 fold), hsp70 subunit 14 (hsp70-14, 5.27 fold), muscle related coiled-coil protein (MURC, 21.55 fold), lysozyme G (40.14 fold), cox17 (29.36 fold) were the conspicuous ones which showed similar trends in expression when analysed by RT-qPCR. Based on fold change, perturbation values, correlation analysis by PCA and RT-qPCR validation, up-regulation of cox7a2, MURC and hsp70-14 appeared to be the most promising biomarker responses and could be useful in the evaluation of gill health and possibly be extended towards aquatic ecosystem health assessment.

River pollution is one of the principal environmental concerns and biomonitoring tools can play an important role in pollution assessment in the riverine environment. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) have been found to be suitable tools for monitoring stress response. In the present study, expression analyses of hsp genes (hsp27, hsp47, hsp60, hsp70, hsc70, and hsp90) and selected hsp-regulatory genes (hsf1, hyou1, ask1, jnk) were carried out by RT-qPCR in catfish Rita rita collected from selected stretches of river Ganga to investigate changes in their expression patterns as biomarker response. Water quality characteristics were measured in terms of physico-chemical characteristics (DO, BOD, COD, pH, conductivity), element profile (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium, zinc, copper) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs; HCH, DDT, aldrin, endosulphan, heptachlor). Water quality index was calculated and sampling sites were categorized as good/medium/bad. Multivariate analysis was carried out taking the water quality parameters and the fold changes in hsp gene expression as variables, which showed that hsp47 and hsp70b correlated well with BOD, an indicator of organic pollution. To identify the organic pollutant(s) which could be influencing the expression of hsps, again multivariate analysis was employed taking concentration of POPs and fold changes of hsps, which showed up-regulation of hsp47 and hsp70b (HSP72i) correlated well with concentrations of aldrin and HCH. Synergistic effects of these POPs could be responsible for the up-regulation of said hsps, although individually present in low concentration; thus, indicating synergistic effect of the POPs on hsp47 and hsp70b up-regulation as biomarker response.

The Indian shad hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) is an important food fish in South-east Asian countries. The fish is rich in oil and known for its high omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content; however information available on the micronutrient profile of this commercially important food fish is limited. The present study investigated the detailed micronutrient profile (mineral and fat soluble vitamins) of different size groups of hilsa. Proximate composition analysis revealed that besides being rich in crude fat (7.91-14.61%), the protein content of this fish is also very high (19.44-21.86%). The macro-minerals potassium, calcium and micro-minerals iron, zinc and the fat soluble vitamins A and E are the dominant micronutrients in different size groups of hilsa. Comparative nutritional evaluation of different size groups of hilsa showed that medium size fish is nutritionally superior to both small and large size groups.

The freshwater catfish Rita rita (Hamilton, 1822) (Family: Bagridae) inhabits the tropical rivers and estuaries and contributes to the capture fisheries production in the Indian subcontinent. It enjoys high consumer preference as a valuable food fish due to its muscle texture, good taste and lesser intramuscular spines; however, basic nutritional information on the species is not available. In the present study, we report the proximate composition, amino acid, fatty acid and mineral composition of different size groups of R. rita. Proximate analysis showed that the fish is rich in protein and low in fat. The protein content (19.55%) was found to be the highest in medium size fishes. Leucine, phenylalanine and glutamic acid are the predominant amino acids in all size groups and leucine (18.67 g 100 g-1 protein) and glutamic acid (10.55 g 100 g-1 protein) contents were significantly high in medium size fishes. The macro-minerals potassium (13800 ppm) and phosphorous (14100 ppm) were significantly high in the medium size group, whereas calcium (1900 ppm) was highest in large size group. The micro-minerals iron and zinc were present in significantly higher amount in the medium size fishes. R. rita is important as a rich source of protein, essential amino acids (leucine, phenylalanine, glutamic acid) and micro elements (Zn, Fe). Comparative nutritional evaluation of different size groups showed that the medium size fish (weighing 500-800 g) were nutritionally superior to the other groups.

The small indigenous fishes (SIFs) are known to be micronutrient rich and they are also cheap sources of quality animal proteins. The genus Puntius comprises of about 134 very beautiful species, out of which Puntius sophore is an important species. Although certain aspects of nutrient composition of some members of this genus are available in literature, comprehensive nutrient profile is not available. In the present study, we report the nutrient profile of P. sophore, collected from ponds and wetlands in and around Kolkata, West Bengal. The proximate composition analysis showed that the fish is rich in proteins and minerals. The amino acid profiles showed that the level of essential amino acid histidine (22.94 ± 0.01 %) is very high among all the amino acids. Although this fish contains low amount of fat (5 %), the fatty acid profile showed that the fish is rich in unsaturated fatty acid out of which oleic acid (28.63 ± 0.02 %) is the most abundant one and a fair amount of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid are also present. The mineral profiles showed that among the macro minerals, calcium is the most abundant one (9,748.2 ± 23.96 mg kg−1), followed by potassium (2,283.7 ± 12.75 mg kg−1) and sodium (1,610 ± 22.34 mg kg−1). It was also found that P. sophore is a rich source of micro minerals Fe (115.0 ± 8.81 mg kg−1), Zn (51.1 ± 10.15 mg kg−1) and Mn (11.2 ± 2.09 mg kg−1). Vitamin profiles showed that it is rich in all the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and out of these vitamin E (30,685.8 μg kg−1) is the most abundant one.

Fish is a healthy food, rich in quality animal proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids especially the (ω)-3 eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid and micronutrients. In addition, fish are more available and affordable than other sources of animal proteins in tropical countries. Aquaculture, which is one of the fastest growing food production sectors, could play a big role in eradicating hunger, malnutrition and nutrient-deprivation globally. However, nutritional information on fish is necessary for utilization of fish in achieving nutritional security and will be helpful in prioritizing species for aquaculture. In this context, we have studied the detailed nutritional composition of selected fishes from India and developed a database (http://www.cifri.res.in/nutrifishin/index.php) with the food data generated. This review explore the implications of such nutritional information in consumer guidance, dietary counselling, food-policy planning and prioritization of species for aquaculture to fight hunger, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency; ultimately contributing to food and nutritional security.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the principal constituent of a variety of cells especially the brain neurons and retinal cells and plays important role in fetal brain development, development of motor skills, and visual acuity in infants, lipid metabolism, and cognitive support and along with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) it plays important role in preventing atherosclerosis, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and so forth. Being an essential nutrient, it is to be obtained through diet and therefore searching for affordable sources of theseω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is important for consumer guidance and dietary counseling. Fish is an important source of PUFA and has unique advantage that there are many food fish species available and consumers have a wide choice owing to availability and affordability. The Indian subcontinent harbors a rich fish biodiversity which markedly varies in their nutrient composition. Here we report the DHA and EPA content and fatty acid profile of 39 important food fishes (including finfishes, shellfishes, and edible molluscs from both marine water and freshwater) from India. The study showed that fishesTenualosa ilisha,Sardinella longiceps,Nemipterus japonicus, andAnabas testudineusare rich sources of DHA and EPA. Promotion of these species as DHA rich species would enhance their utility in public health nutrition.

Low birth weight (LBW) is characterized by less than 2,500 g of body weight at birth. It represents about 15.5 % of total births worldwide and is a major cause of neonatal death. Most notably, 95.6 % of all LBW infants are born in the developing countries. It is primarily resulted from either preterm birth (before 37 weeks of gestation) or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Infants with LBW are about 20 times at higher risk of neonatal mortality and are believed to be more susceptible to cardiovascular complications, inhibition of growth and cognitive development and chronic diseases later in life. Despite its high incidence worldwide and clinical implications, there is still no clear understanding of its causes and consequently, no specific treatments exist. Maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy plays a major role in determining the pregnancy outcome and health of the new born. Fish is a cheap source of quality animal proteins and micronutrients, and fish oil is rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), EPA and DHA. Although the beneficial effects of fish oil on human health is known since 1930s, its protective effects against various pregnancy complications, including IUGR and LBW, have been increasingly recognized during the last two decades. Despite the poor outcome of clinical trials on therapeutic use of fish oil for various pregnancy complications in Western countries, our preliminary epidemiological findings, and numerous observational and experimental studies in developing countries highlight the beneficial effects of fish consumption on pregnancy outcome, particularly in reducing the incidence of LBW. The present paper summarizes various evidences on effects of maternal fish consumption on birth weight, growth and development of infants and young children in the developing world, and emphasizes future research for better understanding of the effects of maternal fish consumption on pregnancy outcome in low socioeconomic settings.

The giant river-catfish (Sperata seenghala) contributes significantly to the inland fisheries production in the tropical rivers and also enjoys high consumer preference. The present study was undertaken to generate information on the nutrient profile of this commercially important species as such information is not available. Proximate composition analysis showed that moisture, crude protein, crude fat and ash contents are 79.40 ± 0.09, 20.06 ± 1.13, 1.40 ± 0.79 and 0.90 ± 0.08%, respectively. Amino acid analysis showed that the fish flesh is rich in the essential amino acids like histidine, threonine and leucine and the ratio of essential to non-essential amino acid is 0.89 indicating its superior protein quality. Fatty acid profiling showed that it is low in fat. The mineral profiles showed that this species is rich in zinc, iron and calcium. The present study showed that Sperata seenghala is a good source of lean meat and trace elements, especially zinc and iron.

The micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are required in small amounts but are essential for health, development, and growth. Micronutrient deficiencies, which affect over two billion people around the globe, are the leading cause of many ailments including mental retardation, preventable blindness, and death during childbirth. Fish is an important dietary source of micronutrients and plays important role in human nutrition. In the present investigation, micronutrient composition of 35 food fishes (includes both finfishes and shellfishes) was investigated from varying aquatic habitats. Macrominerals (Na, K, Ca, Mg) and trace elements (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Se) were determined by either atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)/atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Phosphorus content was determined either spectrophotometrically or by ICP-AES. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The analysis showed that, in general, the marine fishes were rich in sodium and potassium; small indigenous fishes (SIFs) in calcium, iron, and manganese; coldwater fishes in selenium; and the brackishwater fishes in phosphorous. The marine fishes Sardinella longiceps and Epinephelus spp. and the SIFs were rich in all fat-soluble vitamins. All these recommendations were made according to the potential contribution (daily value %) of the species to the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Information on the micronutrients generated would enhance the utility of fish in both community and clinical nutrition.

GC-MS is an important instrument in lipid profiling and lipid biomarker identification. The choice of columns and detectors is important in analysis and identification of the biomolecules. In the present study, GC-MS fingerprinting of fatty acids (FAs) in different tissues of freshwater mollusc Lamellidens marginalis was carried out in GC-MS with two different columns, TR-FAME and TR-WaxMS, to examine if choice of columns and detectors influence the identifications of the lipids. These sentinel organisms are used in aquatic pollution monitoring studies as they accumulate toxic environmental contaminants to levels well above those present in the surrounding environment thus providing information on the spatio-temporal pollution trends. FAs identified in different tissues include the saturated FAs palmitic acid (C16:0), margaric acid (C17:0), stearic acid (C18:0), monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) oleic acid (C18:1), eicosenoic acid (C20:1) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) linoleic acid (C18:2). More numbers of FAs were detected in TR-FAME column than TR-WaxMS column. Several non-fatty acid compounds like butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) and dibutyl phthalate were also identified in the FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) preparation using NIST (MS) library. It was interesting to note that the FA peaks (6/14) were outnumbered by the non-fatty acid peaks (8/14). Such compounds could be taken as unidentified FAs unless powerful detectors like MS are available and can lead to erroneous inferences. The study showed that the choice of columns and detectors influenced the identification of the compounds. The information generated on fatty acid profiles of this bivalve could serve as baseline data for this species in searching for lipid biomarkers for aquatic pollution monitoring studies.

Muscle tissues contribute 34–48 % of the total body mass in fish. Proteomic analysis enables better understanding of the skeletal muscle physiology and metabolism. A proteome map reflects the general fingerprinting of the fish species and has the potential to identify novel proteins which could serve as biomarkers for many aspects of aquaculture including fish physiology and growth, flesh quality, food safety and aquatic environmental monitoring. The freshwater catfish Rita rita of the family Bagridae inhabiting the tropical rivers and estuaries is an important food fish with high nutritive value and is also considered a species of choice in riverine pollution monitoring. Omics information that could enhance utility of this species in molecular research is meager. Therefore, in the present study, proteomic analysis of Rita rita muscle has been carried out and functional genomics data have been generated. A reference muscle proteome has been developed, and 23 protein spots, representing 18 proteins, have been identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS and LC-MS/MS. Besides, transcript information on a battery of heat shock proteins (Hsps) has been generated. The functional genomics information generated could act as the baseline data for further molecular research on this species.

Proteins and amino acids are important biomolecules which regulate key metabolic pathways and serve as precursors for synthesis of biologically important substances; moreover, amino acids are building blocks of proteins. Fish is an important dietary source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and play important role in human nutrition. In the present investigation, crude protein content and amino acid compositions of important food fishes from different habitats have been studied. Crude protein content was determined by Kjeldahl method and amino acid composition was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and information on 27 food fishes was generated. The analysis showed that the cold water species are rich in lysine and aspartic acid, marine fishes in leucine, small indigenous fishes in histidine, and the carps and catfishes in glutamic acid and glycine. The enriched nutrition knowledge base would enhance the utility of fish as a source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and aid in their inclusion in dietary counseling and patient guidance for specific nutritional needs.