BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WILD
AMERICANUS)
WRECKFISH (POLYPRION
F. Linares1, J. L Rodríguez2, J. B. Peleteiro3, R. Cal3, G.Pazos1 and B. ÁlvarezBlázquez3
1 CIMA - Centro de Investigacións Mariñas. Pedras de Corón s/n. Apdo. 13, Vilanova
de Arousa.36620 Pontevedra, Spain.
2 IGaFA- Galician Institute for Aquaculture Training (IGaFA) Niño do Corvo s/n 36626.
Illa de Arousa. Pontevedra- Spain .E-mail: xose.luis.rodriguez.villanueva@xunta.es
3 IEO - Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C. Oceanográfico de Vigo, Subida a Radio
Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain
Introduction
One of the selected species for the diversification of traditional marine species is the
wreckfish Polyprion americanus due to its growth potential, high larval growth index
during its pelagic life phase (Kentouri et al 1995, Papandroulakis et al 1997), the quality
of its flesh and its high commercial value.
Studies on wreckfish nutritional requirements and optimum diets are missing. There are
only a few references related to feeding habitats from commercial caught (Brick Peres &
Haimovi, 2003) and feeding rates in captivity (Papandroulakis et al., 2004) . Recently a
study about composition of Mediterranean Sea wreckfish was published (Roncarati et
al.,2014). The aim of this work is collecting information of the composition of different
tissues of wild wreckfish to contribute the development of a specific formulation of a
diet for wreckfish broodstock.
Material and methods
Sampling of wild wreckfish came from Azores fishing area were carried out from
February 2014 until February 2015. The number of fish examined were 86 (mean fresh
weight 7.26±2.21 Kg and total lenght 75.36±7.39 cm). Fish dissection and sample
collection of muscle, liver and gonads were carried out for biochemical analysis to know
the nutritional status of wild fish. Analysis of protein, lipids and fatty acids of samples of
muscle, liver and gonad were performed. All the analyses were done in triplicate and
values are reported as mean ± std.
Results and Discussion
Concerning biochemical composition, the results (%DW) showed that on wild
wreckfish, the level of proteins and lipids in muscle varied between 70-96% and 3-14%
respectivel. In liver and gonad a high variability was observed in protein and lipid
content, liver:13-69% in protein and 15-79% in lipids and gonad: 22- 80% in protein
and 7-42% in lipids.
The fatty acid profile in wild wreckfish (Table 1) shows that Muscle PUFA
(polyunsaturated fatty acids), SFA (saturated fatty acids) and MUFA (mono-unsaturated
fatty acids) fractions are among 26-46% (mean 38.1±4.7), 26-30% (28.7±1.2) and 2547% (33.2±5.7) respectively, n-3 PUFA content reached 23-40% (33.5±4.0).
The major fatty acids (% of total fatty acids) of the muscle of the wreckfish were DHA
(26%); palmitic acid:16:0 (19%), oleic acid:18:1n-9 (18%); stearic acid.:18:0 (6%) and
eicosapentaenoic acid:20:5n-3(4%).
Roncarati et al (2014) reported more prevalent total PUFA (including n-3 and n-6
PUFA) in larger Mediterranean wreckfish and higher amounts of MUFA in smaller fish
and these differences could be attributed to the diet. It is also reported that fish from
warm or temperature regions have abundant MUFA and SFA, whereas PUFA are
predominant in fish from cold regions.
Table 1. Biochemical composition, proteins, lipids and fatty acids
muscle, liver and gonads of wild wreckfish
Proteins (%DW)
Lipids (%DW)
Fatty acids (%)
ΣSFAs
ΣMUFAs
ARA
EPA
DPA
DHA
ΣPUFAs
Σn-3
Σn-6
n-3/n-6
DHA/EPA
EPA/ARA
(mean±std) of
Muscle
Liver
Gonads
85.55±7.71
6.35±2.43
38.13±14.54
41.19±16.23
48.22±13.62
24.17±9.46
28.73±1.19
33.17±5.69
2.95±0.67
4.27±0.68
2.21±0.27
25.92±3.44
38.10±4.69
33.47±3.95
3.89±0.69
8.72±0.90
6.13±0.77
1.51±0.39
26.26±4.17
57.06±9.85
1.42±0.87
2.84±1.46
1.37±0.74
8.87±5.49
16.68±9.04
14.12±7.84
2.37±1.24
5.88±1.38
3.05±0.88
2.16±0.61
28.71±1.20
42.03±3.26
3.16±1.38
4.36±0.68
2.27±0.29
16.72±2.00
29.26±3.36
24.66±2.54
4.12±1.33
6.40±1.57
3.88±0.43
1.53±0.42
The liver fatty acid profile showed a high variability. n-3 PUFA, n-6 PUFA,EPA, DHA
and ARA represent a lesser percentage of total fatty acids that it was found in muscle,
therefore some fatty acids like DHA are relatively retained in muscle. The gonad fatty
acid profile shows a PUFA content among 24-37% (29.26±3.36), SFAs 27-31%
(28.71±1.20) and MUFA 35-48% (42.03±3.26
Conclusion
Data shown in this paper contribute to characterize muscle, liver and gonad composition
of wild wreckfish and indicate that they have a high amount of proteins in muscle
(86%DW) and a low lipid content (6% DW). Also some fatty acids as DHA, present a
very high content (26% of total fatty acids) and DHA+EPA amounting to around 30%
in the muscle of these fish. These results could be useful to find a specific dry feed for
wreckfish and in consequence to optimize feeding husbandry protocols of this species
which is essential for the development of the wreckfish aquaculture.
References
Kentouri M., Papandroulakis N and Divanach P. 1995. Species diversification in Greek
finfish mariculture. Cahiers Options Méditerranéenes 14: 129-136.
Papandroulakis N, Divanach P and Kentouri M. 1997. Specific diversification in finfish
mariculture: the Mediterranean case. Proceeding of the International Conference
Martinique Special Publication EAS pp 223-224.
Papandroulakis N, M. Suquet, M.T. Spedicato, A.Machias, C. Fauvel and P Divanach.
2004. Feeding rates, growth performance and gametogénesis of wreckfish (Polyprion
americanus) kept in captivity. Aquaculture International 12: 395-407.
Roncarati, A.,Cappuccinelli, R.,Stocchi, L.,Melotti, P. 2014. Wreckfish, Polyprion
americanus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801), a promising species for aquaculture: Proximate
composition, fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of wild Mediterranean specimens.
Journal of food Composition and Analysis 36, 1-2: 104-110.