Proximate Composition, Amino Acid, Mineral, and Trace Element Content of the Edible Muscle of 20 Indian Fish Species

Abstract

The edible muscle tissue of 17 marine fish (seer, hilsa, anchovy, pomfret black, Jew fish, mullet, mackerel, congereel, pomfret white, trevally, pink perch, lesser sardine, threadfins, Bombay duck, giant perch, shark, and catfish) and 3 freshwater fish (murrel, rohu, and catla) were analyzed for their mineral, trace element, amino acid, and proximate compositions. Wide variation between species in protein content (marine, 8–21%; freshwater, 13.5–17.3%) and fat content (marine, 0.7–14.7%; freshwater 0.6–1.3%) was observed. The amino acid composition showed that all fish studied were balanced with respect to essential amino acids. Marine and freshwater fish were comparable in their mineral and trace element compositions except for iodine. Marine species were relatively rich in iodine (6.8–97.1 μg/ 100 g) whereas freshwater fish had lower iodine levels (5–15.5 μg/100 g). The content per 100 g muscle was 4.7–51.4 mg Ca, 116–312 mg P, 29–54.3 mg Mg, 0.5–1.8 mg Fe, 1.1–3.2 mg Zn, 22.3–106.9 μg Cu, 9.7–79.7 μg Mn, and 15.8–69.3 μg Cr.