Biochemical Composition and Heavy Metal Content of Selected Marine Fish from the Gulf of Mannar, India

Abstract

Biochemical composition of five marine fish; grey
bamboo shark, yellow margin triggerfish, paleedged
stingray, laced moray and Japanese
leatherjacket fish from the Gulf of Mannar, India
were evaluated. Moisture, protein, lipid and ash
content for the samples ranged between 75.07-76.74,
17.99-20.97, 1-3.5 and 1.46-1.93% respectively. Profiles
of heavy metal, fatty acid and amino acid data
were also collected. The predominant fatty acids
recorded in all five species were docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA) and palmitic
acid. All five species contain high content of
different essential and non-essential amino acids
namely glutamic acid, aspartic acid, arginine, serine
and lysine. Significant amount of iron (13-50 ppm),
zinc (2.5-10.5 ppm) and copper (0.18-4.03 ppm) were
found in all the fishes. Among heavy metals,
cadmium (0.05-0.1 ppm) was detected which is
below permissible limit.