Seasonal variation of lipid content and fatty acid composition of Sardinella aurita from the Tunisian coast

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom Vol. 90; no. 3; pp. 569 - 573
• Main Authors: Ben Rebah, F., Abdelmouleh, A., Kammoun, W., Yezza, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.05.2010
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical composition; Fatty acids; fish oil; Fish oils; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; lipid content; Lipids; Mammalia; Marine; pelagic fish; PUFAs; Sardinella aurita; Seafood; Seasonal variations; Vertebrata; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Water content; ω-3 fatty acids; Tunisia; Sardinella aurita; ω-3 fatty acids; PUFAs; lipid content; pelagic fish; fish oil; Polyunsaturated fatty acid; Lipids; n-3 fatty acid; Fatty acids; Fish oil; Pelagic zone; Marine environment; Vertebrata; Seasonal variation; Pisces; Unsaturated fatty acid; Tunisia
• ISSN: 0025-3154; 1469-7769
• DOI: 10.1017/S0025315409990658

This study was conducted to clarify the seasonal variation of the chemical composition of the Tunisian Sardinella aurita with a focus on the total lipid content. The chemical composition showed a large fluctuation over years in response to various factors. For the entire fish, lipid content was lower in July (2.50%), but higher in November (10.25%). It varies with seasons in inverse proportion to water content. Interestingly, it was found that red muscle have much higher lipid content than white muscle and the entire fish body. The major fatty acids in S. aurita lipids were palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and myristic acid. Palmitic acid comprised the main proportion (23.9%). The high amounts of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in the screened species are almost in agreement with other studies. Moreover, the percentage of omega-3 fatty acids (25%) was very similar to that in oil production commercial fish.