When the team shone green LED light into a flatfish farm aquarium with the water temperature raised to 30 degrees, active oxygen and lipoperoxide levels significantly decreased in flatfish. Active oxygen and lipoperoxide are internal toxic chemicals that kill cells by damaging their DNA and cellular structure. (image: Korea Maritime and Ocean University)
BUSAN, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – With an insufferable heat wave striking the Korean Peninsula, millions of farmed fish have succumbed to the scorching temperatures this summer. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, over 3 million fish have died across Korea’s fisheries this year thus far, with sea water temperatures rising to 30 degrees Celsius, which is 2 to 4 degrees higher than average.
However, a recent scientific discovery by the Korea Maritime and Ocean University has provided a possible solution to help prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
A research team led by professor Choi Cheol-young found that green light-emitting diodes (LED) reduced the stress levels in flatfish by up to 40 percent. The research was actually carried out to help prevent mass casualties at fish farms during summer months, with the idea derived from previous studies showing that specific colors of LED light could help lower stress levels in aquarium fish.
When the team shone green LED light into a flatfish farm aquarium with the water temperature raised to 30 degrees, active oxygen and lipoperoxide levels significantly decreased in flatfish. Active oxygen and lipoperoxide are internal toxic chemicals that kill cells by damaging their DNA and cellular structure.
More specifically, the average active oxygen level in flatfish exposed to green LED was 8.4pg/mL, which was 42 percent less than those exposed to regular fluorescent light (11.9pg/mL), whereas the lipoperoxide level in LED-exposed flatfish was 15.2pg/mL, 34 percent lower (20.4pg/mL) than fish which were not exposed.
Similar results were observed when the team measured quantitative changes in caspase-3 proteins to determine the level of apoptosis (cell death) from active oxygen and lipoperoxide. The flatfish group exposed to light from green LEDs showed 19.2pmole/mL of caspase-3, a 28 percent decrease from 24.5pmole/mL with regular fluorescent light.
“Our results show that simply shining green LED light into water can help prevent mass deaths of flatfish and other cultivated fish in summertime,” said Choi. “We expect this to further contribute to eco-friendly fish farming by raising immunity levels and decreasing the use of antibiotics.”
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
