A comparative study of fatty acids profile of two Indian major carps (Gibelion catla, Hamilton, 1822 and Cirrhinus mrigala, Hamilton, 1822) using value added fish feed

Abstract

Freshwater fishes are not only a major source of protein but they also possess nutritionally valuable lipids in the form of Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which play a crucial role in the normal growth, disease prevention, development, cardiovascular health and reproduction of human. The present study was performed to determine the incorporation rate of fatty acids profile and their composition in two common freshwater carps as Gibelion catla and Cirrhinus mrigala (in situ trial and experimental) in the different experimental time period (0 days, i.e. initial, 90 days and 180 days) by using of value added feed like flaxseed (?-linolenic acids, 51.26% – 54.94%) and soybean oil (?-linolenic acids, 7.95%-9.01%) as omega-3 supplements. To determine the specific growth pattern Length-Weight Relationships (LWRs) are analyzed where it showed positive allometric growth (b=3.20 in 90 days, b=3.11 in 180 days for Catla and b=3.18 in 90 days, b=3.1 in 180 days for Mrigala fish). The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) method also confirmed that the percentages of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) increased significantly (P< 0.05) in experimental (0.096a±0.41, initial; 5.16a±0.27, 90 days; 6.21b±0.36, 180 days Catla fish species and 0.019a±0.96 initial; 3.74b±0.37, 90 days; 3.50a±0.46 180 days for Mrigal fish species) fishes rather than controls (4.28a±0.27, 90 days; 4.36b±0.36, 180 days for Catla species and 2.24b±0.31 90 days; 2.50a±0.11 180 days for Mrigal species). Therefore, it was clearly indicated that formulated diet performed significantly to maintain the positive allometric growth as well as successive enrichment of PUFAs in experimental specimens, which is beneficial for human health as high source of protein and PUFAs as well.