Fatty acids composition of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus L. 1758) oil produced in Sinop-Turkey

Abstract

Anchovy oil is a very suitable supplementary ingredient for fish feeds due to the essential fatty acid composition. Almost all of anchovy oil produced in Turkey is used by aquatic/fish feed producers. In this research we determined fatty acids contents of anchovy oil produced in Turkey during the commercial catching season. The total saturated fatty acids (SFA) content of anchovy oil was determined as 32.33%, 31.65%, 31.59% in November, December and January, respectively. Within the saturated fraction, the major fatty acid was palmitic acid (C16:0) with 18.74%, 18.27%, 18.20% ratios during the catching season. The monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) content ranged from 23.32% to 24.07%. Concerning the MUFA, oleic acid (C18:1n-9) constituted the larger percentage than others. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6n3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (C20:5n3) contents of anchovy oil were found as average 15.64% and 9.39%, respectively. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were higher than n-6 PUFA. Thrombogenicity (IT) and atherogenicity index (AI) values were 0.27, 0.26, 0.27 and 1.46, 1.42, 1.45 in November, December and January, respectively. The n-3/n-6 ratio was 6.29, 6.17 and 6.70 in November, December and January, respectively.