DHA and EPA Content and Fatty Acid Profile of 39 Food Fishes from India

Abstract

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the principal constituent of a variety of cells especially the brain neurons and retinal cells and plays important role in fetal brain development, development of motor skills, and visual acuity in infants, lipid metabolism, and cognitive support and along with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) it plays important role in preventing atherosclerosis, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and so forth. Being an essential nutrient, it is to be obtained through diet and therefore searching for affordable sources of these ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is important for consumer guidance and dietary counseling. Fish is an important source of PUFA and has unique advantage that there are many food fish species available and consumers have a wide choice owing to availability and affordability. The Indian subcontinent harbors a rich fish biodiversity which markedly varies in their nutrient composition. Here we report the DHA and EPA content and fatty acid profile of 39 important food fishes (including finfishes, shellfishes, and edible molluscs from both marine water and freshwater) from India. The study showed that fishes Tenualosa ilisha, Sardinella longiceps, Nemipterus japonicus, and Anabas testudineus are rich sources of DHA and EPA. Promotion of these species as DHA rich species would enhance their utility in public health nutrition.

Fatty acid, amino acid and vitamin composition of indian catfish, magur (Clarias batrachus) and singhi (Heteropneustes fossilis)

“…Among MUFA the oleic acid content was 28.96 % in magur and it is similar to earlier reports (Swapna et al, 2010 andJakhar et al, 2012). The palmitic acid was considered as a key to many metabolic processes in fish and other aquatic animals (Mohanty et al, 2016). The PUFA content of magur in the present experiment is reported to 25.52±1.40 and it is in agreement with the study in other freshwater fish (Swapna et al, 2010, Kenari et al, 2009and Jakhar et al, 2012.…”

Volatile compounds in hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha , Hamilton) as detected by static headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

“…The important contributions of these ester compounds to food aroma are undisputed: esters with low carbon atoms are highly volatile at room temperature and the perception thresholds are 10 times lower than their alcohol precursors (Spurvey et al, 1998). The presence of these fatty acid methyl esters justifies the fact that hilsa is an oil rich fish which is reported earlier (Alam et al, 2012;Mohanty et al, 2016).…”

Nutritional values of minor carps

“…Meat has been accepted as a good source of protein in almost all parts of the world, specially the Western countries. But this leads to some major human health problems regarding overweight and cardiovascular diseases in the developed countries (Das et al, 2009;Giri et al, 2010 andMohanty et al, 2016). Hence, for the last couple of decades, people have become more aware of fish as a health food alternative to meat.…”

“…Fish has got a particular role as a source of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids viz. eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is important for optimal brain and neural system development in children (Giri et al, 2010;Paul et al, 2015a andMohanty et al, 2016). The n-3 PUFAs, especially the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found in high concentrations in the phosphoglycerides of cellular membranes, and DHA is particularly abundant in the retina and brain, where it has a crucial role in maintaining the structure and function of the excitable membranes of these tissues (Lauritzen et al, 2001).…”