Krill and Osmoregulation - Case Study

One of the most frequent uses of krill is in special diets, when salmonids are transferred from fresh to sea water. This is due to the osmoregulating properties of krill. Krill is rich in trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) which is a known osmoreguator.

The high salt content of the environment represents a strong physiological challenge for fish and crustacean. They need to keep their hemodinamic and a proper physiological status. This is particularly important in salmonids in captivity which are transported from fresh to sea water in a very short span.

Low molecular weight and quaternaries ammonia compounds such as trimethylamine (TMAO) are known osmoregulators.