Omega-3 deterioration rates and fatty acid profiles of selected freshwater and marine fishes kept at defferent storage temperatures

Abstract

Shelf-age of fish is determined from the time it was kept in the storage until its ready to be used or consumed by human. Lipid oxidation represents the major fish spoilage due to high composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in fish flesh. Moving towards satisfying the growing industrial demand, fish needs to be store before being consumed, or before further processing. Post harvest techniques such as icing and freezing are important techniques used to slow down lipid oxidation and maintaining the quality of stored fishes. Therefore, this study was conducted with four main objectives. Firstly, to study profile of fatty acids and the profile’s changes of six tropical fishes; Oreochromis niloticus (Red Tilapia), Monopterus albus (Freshwater Eel), Pangasius hypophthalamus (Silver Catfish), Rastrellinger kanagurta (Indian Mackerel), Euthynnus affinis (Mackerel Tuna) and Epinephelus sp. (Grouper) kept in ambient, ice and frozen storage. Secondly, 3 to study the deterioration rate of α -Linolenic acid (ALA), Ecosapentanoic acid (EPA), Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and total Omega-3 of selected fishes kept at different storage temperature.