In recent times, the Mediterranean diet plans are very popular because it has a lot of advantage in protecting from chronic health problems. Nuts are the integral part of the Mediterranean diet and advised to be incorporated in diet for health benefits. Both tree nuts and pea nut are good source of unsaturated fatty acids, soluble and insoluble fibers, good quantity of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals with recognized benefits to human health. Due to life style disorders many chronic diseases are increasing in human beings. There are many epidemiological studies and research conducted on the relationship between consumption of nuts and chronic disease risks. This book chapter elaborately discusses about the nutritional composition of the nuts and their effect on cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

An experiment was conducted to replace soya bean meal (SBM) with cashew nut meal (CNM) in the diet of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Five isonitrogenous (30% CP) and isolipidic (6% CL) diets, CNM0 to CNM4, were prepared replacing SBM at 0%, 12.5%, 25%, 37.5% and 50% with CNM. The feeding trial was conducted in FRP digestibility tanks of 150 L capacity for 60 days. Twenty tilapia fry (20.56 ± 0.05 g) were stocked in each tank. The final weight, weight gain and weight gain% of tilapia that received the CNM4 diet were significantly higher (p < .01) among the treatments. The significantly higher nutrient utilization efficiency in terms of FCR, PER, PRE and LRE was obtained in the CNM4 group. Similarly, a significantly lower (p < .01) body moisture content and a significantly higher (p < .05) body protein content were also observed in the CNM4 diet‐fed group. In tilapia fed the CNM4 diet, the activity of both protease and amylase enzymes was significantly higher (p < .05), but the amylase:protease ratio (A:P) was significantly lower (p < .05). Protease, amylase and A:P were positively correlated with the nutrient digestibility coefficient. The serum protein, albumin and globulin of tilapia fed the CNM4 diet were significantly higher (p < .05) and the liver status enzymes did not vary (p > .05) among the treatments. It can be concluded from the study that 50% replacement of SBM with CNM in the diet is suitable for the enhancement of growth, nutrient utilization and health status of tilapia.

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Taurine is a β sulphonic amino acid and is conditionally essential for many fish species. In the present study, the effect of dietary taurine (tau) on Pangasianodon hypophthalmus fry (initial mean weight 0.8 ± 0.6 g) was evaluated by feeding six isonitrogenous (370 g/kg crude protein) and isolipidic (100 g/kg crude lipid) casein-based purified diets with graded levels of tau at 0 (basal diet), 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 g/kg feed. Fish were randomly stocked in triplicate groups in 100 L plastic tubs and fed to apparent satiation over two feedings at 10.00 and 16.00 hr daily for 45 days.Final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, and protein efficiency ratio improved significantly (p < .05) with increasing dietary tau up to 15 g/kg feed and plateaued thereafter.Whole-body protein content did not change beyond tau 15 g/kg feed, but carcass lipid content significantly (p < .05) decreased. The group of fish fed with tau 25 g/kg feed exhibited significantly higher (p < .05) superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione s-transferase activity.According to the findings of this study, the optimum dietary tau content in P. hypophthalmus fry feed was estimated to be 15.05-16.31 g/kg feed as per the broken-line regression

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