In their review of the role of ARA in aquaculture feeds, Bell and
Sargent (2003) stressed the importance of ARA as the primaryeicosanoid precursor, with many roles, including resistance to
stress. The increased stressors experienced by fish in intensive culture
systems may account for the reduced levels of ARA, in contrast
to those reported from wild or semi-intensively cultured fish. The
muscle levels of ARA found in this study were low or found only in
trace amounts. This is in marked contrast to the observations of
Weaver et al. (2008) who recorded high levels of ARA and high
ratios of ARA/EPA in fillet samples of farmed tilapia. Based on their
results, from fish purchased in US markets, these authors raised
questions concerning potential disease risk factors associated with
tilapia consumption. These risk factors included the potential production,
from excessive ARA, of undesirable levels of eicosanoids,
such as prostoglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes.