POTENTIAL OF SEAFOOD INDUSTRY BYPRODUCTS AS SOURCES OF RECOVERABLE LIPIDS: FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF MEAT AND NONMEAT COMPONENT OF SELECTED INDIAN MARINE FISHES

Lipids from different body components (head, meat and waste) of three commercial varieties of Indian marine fishes-Pink perch (Nemipterus japonicus), Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) and Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) were analyzed for lipid class distribution and fatty acid profile. Total lipid (TL) content was in the range of 4.313.6% (wet weight basis [wwb] ) in head, 2.5310.97% (wwb) in meat and 2.715.1% (wwb) in waste. The highest TL was in sardine waste (14.1%). Among all the body components of different fishes, neutral lipipids (NL) were higher in head (83.289.2%). Fatty acid composition revealed higher concentration of palmitic acid among the saturated fatty acids in TL of all the fishes, irrespective of the body components. In case of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were found in higher concentrations. The potential of nonmeat components of marine fishes as sources for recovery of UFAs is highlighted by this study. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The health benefits of fish oil especially EPA and DHA are well documented. Fish oil has several applications including pharmaceutical, feed and nutraceutical applications. With dwindling fish catches and increasing demand for food fishes, alternatives for fish oil are a need of the hour. Lipids recovered from processing by products of commercial fishes are better alternatives to fish oil and can effectively contribute towards sufficing the demand for fish oils in the aqua- or livestock feed industries. The present work mainly highlights the importance of processing byproducts/wastes as alternative sources of fish oil.