Visual effects of β-­glucans on wound healing in fish

Introduction B-glucans are diverse polysaccharides that occur naturally in plants, fungi and bacteria. B-glucans have been shown to have an immunostimulatory effect1. In addition, B-glucans have been found to increase wound tensile strength and collagen synthesis2. This is likely to affect the filet quality3. With multispectral imaging we investigate the effect of adding B-glucans to the water during healing of open wounds in fish. Multispectral imaging is used in human diagnostic medicine for evaluating fx proriasis and chronic diabetic wounds, but has not yet been applied to wounds in fish. Experimental set-up. The fish (common carp, Cyprinus carpio and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) were wounded with a biopsy punch (Miltex, York, USA), thus removing a cylinder of tissue. The resulting wound exposed the muscle. Fish were then kept for 14 days in either pure tap water or tap water supplemented with B-glucans (to a final concentration of 0.1mg/L). The experiment was then either terminated or continued with normal tap water. Multispectral images were acquired several times during the experiment using a VideometerLab (Videometer A/S, Horsholm, Denmark). Results and discussion Experiments are still underway, but some results are expected to be ready for the workshop.