Abstract:

Seasonal variations of proximate and fatty acid compositions of the muscle tissue of sand smelt (Atherina boyeri) harvested in Cekerek (Sureyyabey) Dam were investigated. Seasonal nutritional composition of sand smelt muscle in October, March and July were found as 17.00%; 16.72%; 15.64% for protein, 1.95%; 2.00%; 2.86% for lipid, 79.25%; 79.17%; 78.06% for moisture and 1.80%; 2.10%; 2.49% ash, respectively. Sand smelt showed the lowest protein values in summer, while the highest protein values were observed in autumn and spring. The highest lipid content of sand smelt was found in summer (P < 0.05). The moisture content of sand smelt in summer was significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of the content in autumn and spring. The lowest ash content was observed in autumn (1.80%) whereas sand smelt gave the highest ash level was in summer. During the seasons, the proximate and FA composition values of sand smelt showed variations (p<0.05). Seasonal fatty acid compositions of sand smelt ranged from 24.63 to 25.69% for saturated fatty acid (SFA), from 20.75 to 26.43% for monounsaturated (MUFA), and from 28.29% to 36.11% polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), palmitoleic acid (16:1ω7), oleic acid (18:1ω9), linoleic acid (LA, 18:2ω6), arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4ω6), linolenic acid (18:3ω3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3) were major fatty acids of sand smelt in different seasons. The highest proportion of EPA (5.59-7.22%) and DHA (12.33-19.77%) were observed in spring. The results showed that sand smelt is good source of n-3 PUFAs and is rich in EPA+DHA for human nutrition. 

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