Analysis of Fatty Acid Profiles of Kingfish (Scomberomorus commerson) from Different Coastal Regions of Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

Samples of kingfish of different age groups were collected from the Batinah and Dhofar coasts of Oman. Fatty acids (FA) were extracted from the dorsal muscle samples of the kingfish and analyzed on a Hewlett Packard Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrophotometer (GCMS). Individual FA was identified by comparing their retention times with reference samples, which were confirmed by the NIST98 computer mass spectral library. Specimens collected from the Batinah coast contained slightly higher amounts of total fatty acids compared to specimens of the Dhofar area. The results showed that kingfish from the Batinah area had high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) compared to saturated fatty acids (SAFA). However, there was little or no difference between PUFA and SAFA in samples collected from the Dhofar region. All samples had more eicosapentaenoic acid (20: 5ω3, EPA) than docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6ω3, DHA). The ω3 types FA were 5–8 folds higher in all samples compared to the ω6 type FA. Kingfish from the Batinah region showed higher ω3/ω6 FA ratios than samples from the Dhofar region.