The effects of enzyme supplementation on growth, body proximate, and fatty acid composition of great sturgeon Huso huso fingerlings were investigated. Multienzyme (Kemin Ò ) was added to diet in different concentrations (0, 250, 500, 750, and 1,000 mg/ kg). Fingerlings were randomly stocked in tanks and fed with the experimental diets three times a day at 5-10% body weight for 46 days. Fingerlings fed diets containing 250 mg/kg exogenous enzyme exhibited higher weight gain and specific growth rate. This level of enzyme in the diet significantly improved feed conversion ratio. Body protein and moisture decreased slightly when fish fed with enzyme-supplemented diets while fat increased. Fingerlings fed with 500 mg/kg enzyme in diet had higher contents of n-3 essential fatty acids and lower n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio. Optimum growth performance in great sturgeon fingerlings can be obtained by 250 mg/kg multienzyme in the diet.

In this study the effects of dietary exogenous enzyme (Kemin®; 0, 250, 500, 750 and 1,000 mg/kg) on certain blood biochemical parameters (total protein, glucose, cholesterol) and serum magnesium in cultured great sturgeon (Huso huso) juveniles were determined. Juveniles (mean weight 10.2±0.8 g) were fed three times a day at 5-10% body weight for 46 days. Serum total protein concentration remained unaffected except in fish fed with 750 mg/kg enzyme which was significantly higher than the other treatments. Although dietary enzyme did not affect the glucose level in juveniles fed with 1,000 mg/kg enzyme, its level decreased significantly in other groups. Serum cholesterol of the fish decreased in all treatments except in fish fed 750 mg/kg dietary enzyme. Magnesium levels were higher in the groups that received 500-750 mg/kg dietary enzyme.

Microbiological quality, lipid oxidation and fatty acid composition of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella slices dipped in sodium acetate (0, 1 and 3%), nisin (0, 0.1 and 0.2%) or their combination during refrigerated storage of 8 days were monitored. Both nisin and sodium acetate inhibited the proliferation of total mesophile and lactic acid bacteria in dose dependent manner, but the combination treatments exhibited the higher efficacy in retardation of microbial growth. Higher concentrations of sodium acetate (3%) were more effective in preventing lipid oxidation. By the end of the storage period, higher n3 fatty acids, EPA (C20:5n‐3) and DHA (C22:6n‐3) content and lower n6/n3 ratio were found in the samples treated with 3% sodium acetate + 0.1 and 0.2% nisin. Nisin in combination with sodium acetate can therefore be used as the effective preservatives to maintain the quality of slices during refrigerated storage. PRACTICAL APLICATIONS Antimicrobial agents such as sodium acetate and nisin are found to be effective in preventing microbial growth and improving quality of food under storage condition. Treatment of slices using 3% sodium acetate in combination with 0.2% nisin was recommended as the best condition for maintaining the quality of grass carp slices stored under the refrigerated condition.

Midkine (MK) is a heparin-binding growth factor and was found to be highly expressed in many types of human carcinomas. MK may become a novel tumor marker. In this study, we used the rabbit specific antibodies against human MK to establish a double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of MK system and applied it to detect serum MK levels in different types of cancer patients. The standard curve, precision and recovery rate were tested, respectively, and serum MK concentration of 102 cancers patients and 102 normal individuals were detected using this method. The detection range of this method was 0.2 to 10 ng/ml (R 2 = 0.97). The average intra and intro-assay coefficients of variation (CVs) were 3.6 and 7.9%, respectively. The average recovery rate was 89.9% when some standard antigens were added into the serum. The medians (25th and 75th percentiles) of serum MK levels were 1.35 ng/ml (0.96 and 1.64) in cancer patients and 0.30 ng/ml (0.23 and 0.38) in the controls; the MK levels of the patients were significantly higher than those of the controls (P<0.05). Moreover, 87.2% of the patients showed more than 0.6 ng/ml levels of MK. Serum MK could serve as a general tumor marker with a good potential for clinical application.