Seasonal analysis of the biochemical composition of muscle and liver of Catla catla in a tropical climate of India

Abstract

Bio-indices have been developed to provide the measurement of general condition of fish population and indicate the physiological status of the individual fish. The objective of this work was to evaluate the changes in the bio-indices of Catla catla as a function of season and gender and to investigate how these indices respond to changes in lipid and protein content of liver and muscle. Both condition factor and gastro-somatic index were greatly increased in pre-mating season. Maximum values of gonadosomatic index (GSI) of fish were observed in the rainy season. The relationship between GSI and the hepatosomatic index (HSI) was found to be negatively significant throughout the study period as well as during the progression of gonad maturation stages. Protein content formed the highest percentage among biochemical components which ranged from 15.2 to 19.0 %. The results revealed that moisture content was high when lipid was low during the peak spawning period. The amount of protein, lipid, and fatty acid levels increase during spring whereas moisture content of muscle and liver increased during summer and rainy season. Seasonal values of the most of the parameters were deteriorating during late summer and rain and showed improvement during winter to reach maximum in spring.