Fatty Acid Composition of the Marine Catfish Arius arius Determined by GC-FID
A. Maria Antony Dominikal
*
PG and Research Department of Zoology, St. Mary’s College (Autonomous), Thoothukudi – 628001, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012, Tamil Nadu, India.
P. Subavathy
PG and Research Department of Zoology, St. Mary’s College (Autonomous), Thoothukudi – 628001, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012, Tamil Nadu, India.
P. Kaviya Priya
PG and Research Department of Zoology, St. Mary’s College (Autonomous), Thoothukudi – 628001, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aim: The current study aims to analyse the fatty acid composition of the marine catfish Arius arius (Hamilton, 1822) from Thoothukudi coastal region.
Methodology: Total lipids from muscle tissue have been extracted using Folch et al., (1957) process and purified. Purified sample was modified to fatty acid methyl esters and analysed using a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and a fused silica DB-23 capillary column. The fatty acids present in A. arius were determined via examining the retention times of standards.
Results: The analysis showed the presence of a wide array of fatty acids, including saturated fatty acids (36.63%), monounsaturated fatty acids (21.54%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (19.64%) along with 23 unidentified peaks (17.71%). Major saturated fatty acids included palmitic (16.71%) and stearic acid (9.62%), whereas oleic (3.60%) and palmitoleic acids (6.70%) dominated the monounsaturated fatty acids. Notably, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 10.31%) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 6.51%) were detected in higher proportion.
Conclusion: The analysis indicated considerable lipid diversity in A. arius. The detection of biologically important long-chain PUFAs, namely EPA and DHA, underscores the nutritional importance of A. arius. These results provide baseline information on A. arius and help in understanding its biochemical and nutritional characteristics.
Keywords: Arius arius, fatty acid composition, GC-FID, FAME, SFA, MUFA, PUFA