Inter-annual and seasonal dynamics of amino acid, mineral and vitamin composition of silver bellyLeiognathus splendens

Abstract

Silver bellies,Leiognathus splendenswere studied for their spatial (south-west and south-east coasts of India), annual (2008–2011) and seasonal (pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon) variations of protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. The monthly mean Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor data for the period from January 2008 to December 2011 were taken into account to indicate the distribution of the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll-ato test the hypothesis that surface productivity might be related to nutritional biochemistry of this species. The four year average total protein content and chlorophyll-ashowed good correlation during monsoon on the south-west coast and monsoon/post-monsoon on the south-east coast, suggesting that the protein content is prejudiced by the chlorophyll-aconcentration. Amino acid scores observed monsoon maxima along the south-west and south-east coasts. Significant seasonal variations in vitamin content were observed at the study locations with high content of vitamins D3, E, K1and C on the south-west coast. Na content was maximal during pre-monsoon on the south-west coast, while post-monsoon maxima of Ca and K content were observed. The Fe, Mn and Zn were abundant in the samples collected from the south-west coast. The concentration of Se exhibited maximum values post-monsoon along the south-west and south-east coasts. The present study demonstratedL. splendensas a valuable source of the protein, amino acids, minerals and vitamins, showing that this low-value species is a good source of well balanced proteins with high biological value to be qualified as a preferred healthy food for human consumption.