Proximate and fatty acid compositions of different body portions in cultured Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878)

Abstract

The present study compared proximate composition and fatty acid profiles of three different body portions viz., dorsal, caudal and belly regions, in cultured Pangasianodon hypophthalmus procured from farms in Andhra Pradesh. The proximate composition revealed significant (p≤ 0.05) variation in total fat with belly portion having 22.32% compared to 0.41 and 2.54% in dorsal and caudal portions respectively. The protein content was higher (18.97%) in caudal region, whereas ash (1.19%) and moisture (78.18%) contents were higher in dorsal portion. A total of 27 fatty acids were unveiled by fatty acid profiling, of which saturated fatty acids were the major contributors with a higher concentration of 66.45% in belly portion. Health beneficial n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were found in the range of 0.19 to 0.45% and 0.56 to 2.02% respectively. Relatively higher amounts of n-9 fatty acids were also observed indicating deficiency of dietary essential fatty acids (EFA).