Relationships between structure and feeding attraction activity of certain L-amino acids and lecithin in aquatic animals

Abstract

In order to elucidate the structure of L-amino acids and lecithin inducing feeding attraction activity, the attraction activity was behaviorally investigated on their derivatives for three test aquatic animals, adult oriental weatherfish Misgurunus anguillicaudatus, young black abalone Haliotis discus and/or juvenile yellowtail Seriola quiuqueradiata. The attraction activity of amino acid was ascertained to be largely depend on both α-carboxyl and α-amino groups, especially the former one on the basis of the experimental results of basic amino acid derivatives having a part of α-carboxyl and/or α-amino groups replaced with certain groups, and on a short straight carbon chain in simple amino acid from the results of neutral amino acid derivatives, amino-fatty acid compounds. In case of lecithin, it was demonstrated that the type of lecithin having trimethyl in α-N-moiety and higher saturated fatty acid in α-and β-residue groups is mostly effective to anattraction behavior on the basis of the experimental results of lecithin derivatives.