Effects of starvation on fatty acid composition of liver and ovary in Sepiella maindroni

Sepiella maindroni samples at sexual maturity (4~5 months) were starved for 0, 12, 24 days, then the liver and ovary were examined to study the effects of starvation on the fatty acid composition. The results showed that with the prolongation of starvation time, there were weight loss, atrophy of liver and ovary in S.maindroni. Compared with the fasting group, the percentages of saturation fatty acid (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) in the liver of starved S.maindroni decreased significantly (P0.05), while the percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and highly-unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) increased significantly (P0.05). Compared with the case of liver, the fatty acid composition of ovary in S.maindroni remained relatively constant within the 12-day starvation, but as for the 24-day starvation, the percentages of SFA declined very significantly (P0.01) while those of MUFA, PUFA+HUFA and n-6 PUFA increased significantly in comparison with the fasting group (P0.05).