Evaluation of selected trivalent metal oxides as inert markers used to estimate apparent digestibility in salmonids

Trivalent oxides of yttrium and rare earth metals were evaluated as inert markers in apparent digestibility studies with salmonids in four experiments. Tn Experiment 1, 100 mg kg(-1) of each of 15 oxides (Dy2O3, Er2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Ho2O3, La2O3, Lu2O3, Nd2O3, Pr2O3, Sc2O3, Sm2O3, Tb(III and IV) oxide, Tm2O3, Y2O3 and Yb2O3) were included in a feed fed to rainbow trout. The ratio between each marker and Yb2O3 in stripped faeces was used as an indicator of recovery, Only Er2O3, Ho2O3 and Tm2O3 had lower recoveries than the other markers. Experiment 2 compared the excretion rates of Cr2O3 and of the selected alternative markers (La2O3, Y2O3 and Yb2O3). A feed with 7.5 g kg(-1) of Cr2O3 and 750 mg kg(-1) of each of the other markers was fed to Atlantic salmon for a period of 1 week. Thereafter, the fish were fed with a marker-free feed, and gastro-intestinal evacuation was evaluated by comparing the marker ratios in the feed and in the faeces sieved from the outlet water of the tanks. The results did not reveal any systematic differences in evacuation among the various markers. Experiment 3 compared in vitro solubility of Cr2O3, Dy2O3, La2O3, Y2O3 and Yb2O3 in weak...