Effects of smoking on fatty acids composition of croaker (<i>Pseudotolithus senegalensis</i>)

Abstract

Fish meat has become a component of a healthy diet, as it is considered a source of essential fatty acids. The effects of smoking on the fatty acids composition (FAC) of smoked croakers were determined. Smoked croakers were produced using improved smoking kiln by Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research. The smoked croakers were packed in polythene bags and transported to Matis Research Laboratory, Iceland for analysis. The FAC were 91.44% of lipid and 91.51% of lipid for fresh and smoked croakers respectively. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the FAC as a result of smoking. However, the saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) increased significantly (P<0.05) with significant (P<0.05) reduction in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as a result of smoking. There was also significant (P<0.05) reduction in the FAC of the smoked croakers analysed with skin to that of smoked croakers analysed without skin (skinless).The relationship of PUFA to SFA for fresh and smoked croakers were greater than 0.4 and the omega-6 to omega-3 ratios of both the fresh and smoked croaker were far less than one (1) thus constituting an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and a highly healthy food.

Keywords: Croakers, smoked, fatty acids composition, with skin, skinless