Vitamin A and E content in early stages of cephalopods and their dietary effects in Octopus vulgaris paralarvae

The present study was designed to provide a look at the vitamin content of the early stages of cephalopods as an approach to their vitamin requirements in culture. Vitamin A and E profiles of the European cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, European squid Loligo vulgaris and common octopus Octopus vulgaris laboratory hatchlings and wild juveniles were analyzed. In addition, for O. vulgaris we determined vitamin A and E profiles of mature ovaries and eggs at different stages of development, and followed their possible dietary effects during the first month of paralarval rearing. We also analyzed vitamin A and E content of the live prey, i.e. Artemia nauplii, Maja brachydactyla hatchling crab zoeae and the mysidacean shrimp Leptomysis buergii. In the octopus ovaries and eggs, the vitamin A and E concentrations remained globally higher compared to paralarvae and wild juveniles. The vitamin A content in early stages of cephalopods was not much different from that observed in other marine molluscs and fish larvae and is expected to come from the carotenoid pool of their crustacean prey. Relatively high content of vitamin E was observed in the octopus ovaries, eggs, hatchlings and juveniles of the three cephalopod species analyzed. These levels are probably related to the high percentage of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that are particularly high in paralarval and juvenile cephalopods. The vitamin E content of the natural prey, M. brachydactyla and L. buergii, seemed to match or exceed the dietary needs of the three species of cephalopods analyzed. The vitamin E content of the Artemia-fed O. vulgaris increased during the rearing period and the content of the one month of age paralarvae did not differ from the content in wild octopus juveniles, suggesting that this prey may provide sufficient tocopherol for the young octopuses.