Abstract:

The present study aims to determine the proximate, fatty acid and amino acid profiling of consumed fresh narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson). Landed fish were freshly sampled (total length 33.7-48.7 cm and weight 617-1260 g) from the Yumurtalık Bay (north-eastern Mediterranean Sea) in Turkey during January, February and March. The protein values were highest in January (22.89%) while the and lowest in February (21.38%) and March (21.73%). Lipid and ash values were not significantly differencing among sampling time. The fatty acid data revealed that the saturated fatty acid values were found higher than the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acid values. In general, the fillets were abundant in palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (18:1n-9) and docosapentaenoic acid (C22:6n-3; DHA) values, regardless of the sampled months. DHA value was recorded as 315.08 mg 100g-1 in January, while it increased to 327.55 mg 100g-1 in the March samples. A total of 16 amino acids were determined from the fresh fillets. Compared with the other essential amino acids, the concentration of lysine and leucine were found to be higher in the fillet. At the same time, the lower rates of tryptophan were detected in examined samples for all months. Consequently, this study shows that the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel as a finfish (commercially valuable) from the north-eastern Mediterranean Sea has precious nutritional values that of the protein, fatty acids and amino acids during the sampling period. This fish can be recommended in terms of detected essential fatty acid and amino acid profile that completely nutritious for the human as well as other organisms’ dietary requirements.

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