Fatty acid composition of fishes from Inland Waters

Abstract

The paper presents a comparative analysis of proximate and fatty acid composition of seven fish species from the Danube River including asp (Aspius aspius), common bream (Abramis brama), common barbel (Barbus barbus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) and northern pike (Esox lucius). Eight samples of each species of freshwater fish were caught from the Danube. The amount of protein ranged from 16.69 g/100 g (common carp) to 18.61 g/100 g (barbel). Fat content in the fillets of pike, asp, bream, sterlet, common carp and barbel was 1.61; 2.78; 3.24; 5.39; 7.13 and 7.78 g/100 g, respectively. The total cholesterol content was the highest in the sterlet fillets (73.59 mg/100 g) and the lowest in the asp (36.26 mg/100 g). The total amount of saturated fatty acids was the highest in pike (39.9%) and the lowest in bream (27.27%). The sum of polyunsaturated fatty acid was however the highest in pike (28.15%) and the lowest percentage of PUFA was in bream (17.07%) and the lowest n-3/n-6 ratio was in common carp (0.44). The chemical composition and quantity of n-3 fatty acids varied largely by the fish species. The meat of warm water fishes from the Danube River represents a valuable source of healthy nutrition for the consumers.