Seasonal Variation in Nutritional Quality of Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from Upper Jebba Basin, Nigeria

Abstract

Fish protein is regarded as quality protein being rich in essential amino acids with a high digestibility value. The biochemical composition of the fish differs with the change in habitat as well as season. Samples of freshwater catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from Upper Jebba Basin, Nigeria were analyzed during the dry and wet seasons to study the variation in proximate composition of nutrients and mineral content using standard procedures in dry weight basis. The results revealed the presence of the moisture content with an average mean of 4.26 ± 1.04% in dry season while wet season recorded 5.63 ± 1.27%. The ash content in dry and wet season is 6.10 ± 0.85% and 4.66 ± 0.46% respectively while the crude fibre were generally low with significantly variation (P<0.05) between 0.84 ± 0.12% in dry months and 0.57 ± 0.25% in wet months. The average mean values of crude protein were slightly higher at 64.47 ± 0.58% in wet months than 63.10 ± 2.10% in dry months. Variation in crude fat content for both season were within a narrow range with an average mean of 4.03 ± 0.16% and 4.09 ± 0.03% for dry and wet season respectively. Average Nitrogen Free Extract (Carbohydrate) of 20.76 ± 1.43% in dry season was comparatively higher than 19.86 ± 1.55% in wet months. The mineral composition of the fish in both seasons varied significantly (P<0.05) in Ca, K, Cu and Zn% mean concentration.