Feeding experiments were conducted using 5 test diets to examine the nutritive value of several sterols for the juvenile prawn Penaeus japonicus. The prawn showed a markedly lower weight gain, feed conversion efficiency (FCE), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) on a sterol-deficient diet, than diets with 0.5% 1evels of cholesterol, β-sitosterol, β-sitosterol-cholesterol (9:1, w/w), or 24-methylcholesta-5, 22-dienol as sterol sources. Cholesterol was most effective among the sterols examined in improving the weight gain, FCE, and PER Although both 24-methylcholesta-5, 22-dienol and β-sitosterol were effective in improving growth, the former had a higher efficacy than the latter. The addition of small amounts of cholesterol to a β-sitosterol-diet improved the FCE and PER somewhat, but, not the gain in weight. The retention rates (%) of dietary proteins and lipids to the body were markedly lower in the prawn receiving the sterol-deficient diets than in those receiving the diets containing sterols. The retention rate of dietary total sterols to the body varied with the kind of sterols in diets, the highest retention rate being observed on a cholesterol-diet. Dietary 24-methylcholesta-5, 22-dienol and β-sitosterol were less retained in the body than dietary cholesterol, although the two former sterols were likely to be converted to cholesterol in the body.
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Teshima et al. (1986) studied this question.