Nutritional Value of Commercially Important Fishes

Abstract

There is high biological value of fish flesh. Usually it is consumed in fresh condition,

sometimes in its preserved form. The nutritional value, the look, the flavor and even

biochemical composition differs. Even fishes from the same species show variations in

biochemical composition according to the fishing ground season, age, sex etc. The

principal biochemical content of fish are protein, fat and water. The variations in

chemical composition particularly in relation to moisture, fat, protein, ash and mineral

contents and its food value should indeed be a very fruitful aspect of the study. Though

the food and feeding habits of fishes are known, very few work has been done on the

estimation of stomach. The present study is helpful in this regard. The principle areas of

such depofats are muscles, head, egg, liver and viscera. Brain shows highest

concentration of fat and heart shows the lowest. The composition of fatty acids in fish is

affected by a number of environmental factors of varying salinity, the extreme being

represented by fresh and marine water conditions. The present study is helpful for

comparison of chemical composition of some of the commercially important fishes not

only in muscle tissue but also in digestive tract tissue, which is generally thrown.

Keywords: Fish-chemical composition-muscle-tissue-digestive tract tissue