Abstract: Four isonitrogenous (35.5% dry matter) and isocaloric (16.8 kJ·g-1 dry matter) diets with two types (dextrin and glucose) and two levels (20% and 40% respectively) of carbohydrates were fed carps (〖WTBX〗Carassius auratus〖WTBZ〗 〖WTBX〗pengzesis〖WTBZ〗) at 2 times a day and 6 times a day respectively for 16 weeks to determine the effect of feeding frequency on the carbohydrate utilization. The initial fish weight was 3.7±0.3 g and three replicates were conducted. The weight gain rate, feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio were improved when the feeding frequency increased from 2 times a day to 6 times a day. When the feeding frequency was 2 times a day, the fish fed the dextrin diet gained significantly more body weight than fish fed the glucose diet (〖WTBX〗P〖WTBZ〗=0.003), regardless of carbohydrate levels. Besides, the fish fed the low carbohydrate diet growth better than fish fed high carbohydrate (〖WTBX〗P〖WTBZ〗=0.003), regardless of carbohydrate types. When the feeding frequency was 6 times a day, however, there were no significant difference in body weight gain. When the feeding frequency was 2 times a day, fish fed the dextrin diet gained significantly more protein retention efficiencies than fish fed the glucose diet(〖WTBX〗P〖WTBZ〗<0.05), while no significant difference was observed when feeding frequency was 6 times a day. The retentions of lipid and energy at different frequencies followed the same general pattern as protein retention. Moreover, lipid retention in fish fed high carbohydrate were close to or more than 100%, indicating a part of dietary carbohydrate was transformed to body lipid. The body lipid increased significantly when the feeding frequency increased from 2 times a day to 6 times a day, and when the feeding frequency was 6 times a day, the body lipid of fish fed diet HG lower than that of fish fed other diets. The body protein, ash and moisture weren’t affected by dietary carbohydrate types or levels, nor feeding frequencies. The glycated hemoglobin was higher in fish fed high carbohydrate diet than fish fed low carbohydrate diet(〖WTBX〗P〖WTBZ〗<0.001), however, no significant difference was observed in plasma triglycerides and total cholesterols. These results indicated that high feeding frequency improved the carbohydrate utilization by 〖WTBX〗Carassius auratus〖WTBZ〗 〖WTBX〗pengzesis〖WTBZ〗. The reason might be related with weakened or eliminated the shift in metabolic flux induced by high blood glucose.

Key words: carbohydrate, Carassius auratus, pengzesis, feeding frequency, carbohydrate, Carassius auratus, pengzesis