Proximate and Major Mineral Composition of 23 Medium Sized Marine Fin Fishes Landed in the Thoothukudi Coast of India

Palani Kumar M

doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000259

Abstract

Twenty three marine fin fishes landed in Thoothukudi Coast of India were examined for their proximate and major mineral composition to determine their nutrition value. The average moisture content ranged from 67.23 to 80.48%. Majority of fishes (69%) had the average protein contents between 15 to 20%. Coral reef fishes of the genera, Lutjanus, Nemipterus and Scolopsis had high protein content (>21%).The fat content varied widely from 0.24 to 14.72%, with Leiognathus dussumieri being the most fatty fish (14.72 %). The average ash contents of most of 87% of fishes were < 2% and two species, Nemipterus japonicus and Epinephelus areolatus had high values of 3.92% and 3.79%, respectively. Most of fishes are rich source of phosphorus. A Species of Lutjanus and Epinephelus had high iron and calcium contents. The total energy value seemed too high for Leiognathus dussumieri (174 kcal) and Dussumieri acuta (150 kcal), mainly due to their fat contents

Highlights

Fish is consumed by a large percentage of population in the world due to its high quality protein
The fish species, Epinephelus areolatus belonging to the family Serranidae having an average weight of 225.00 ± 07.07 g was the largest fish while Stolephorus devisi of the family Engraulidae was the smallest fish (14.67 ± 02.52 g)
This study indicated that the fish, Leiognathus dussumieri which was often considered as a trash fish could be properly exploited as a potential source of health beneficial fatty acids

Summary

Introduction

Fish is consumed by a large percentage of population in the world due to its high quality protein. It contains the most important nutritional components and serves as a source of energy for human beings [1,2]. Majority of the nutrition lists recommend that human beings should consume fish every day [3,4]. Composition of live-weight, whole fish is 70 to 80% water, 20 to 30% protein, and 2 to 12% lipid [10]. In different environmental conditions, the composition of the fish may differ in relation to the differences in water quality, feeding conditions, sex, and state of maturity [11,12,13] and capture condition [14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion