Lipid profile and health benefit of commonly consumed fresh water and sea water fish species in the population of Serbia

Abstract

Background/Aim. Dietary intake of n-3 long-chain polyun-saturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) is important in prevention and treatment of different diseases. In general population, the average intake of n-3 LC-PUFA is often significantly lower than recom-mended levels. Fish lipids are rich sources of these fatty acids, of which the most important are eicosapentaenoic (20:5 n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic (22:6 n-3, DHA) fatty acids. This study was designed to determine and compare fat, fatty acids and lipid qual-ity indices in 10 commercial fish species available on the Serbian market, as well as relation between their price and nutritional val-ue. Methods. Freshwater fish originated from the Danube River in the Belgrade Region, while seawater fish were mostly from the Adriatic Sea. A gas chromatography method was used to define fatty acids in 40 fish samples after lipid extraction. Cost-minimization analysis was conducted to assess the economic util-ity. Results. Seawater fish had a significantly higher value of flash lipid quality compared to the freshwater fish (p < 0.05). Value of Background/Aim. Dietary intake of n-3 long-chain polyun-saturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) is important in prevention and treatment of different diseases. In general population, the average intake of n-3 LC-PUFA is often significantly lower than recom-mended levels. Fish lipids are rich sources of these fatty acids, of which the most important are eicosapentaenoic (20:5 n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic (22:6 n-3, DHA) fatty acids. This study was designed to determine and compare fat, fatty acids and lipid qual-ity indices in 10 commercial fish species available on the Serbian market, as well as relation between their price and nutritional val-ue. Methods. Freshwater fish originated from the Danube River in the Belgrade Region, while seawater fish were mostly from the Adriatic Sea. A gas chromatography method was used to define fatty acids in 40 fish samples after lipid extraction. Cost-minimization analysis was conducted to assess the economic util-ity. Results. Seawater fish had a significantly higher value of flash lipid quality compared to the freshwater fish (p < 0.05). Value of Background/Aim. Dietary intake of n-3 long-chain polyun-saturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) is important in prevention and treatment of different diseases. In general population, the average intake of n-3 LC-PUFA is often significantly lower than recom-mended levels. Fish lipids are rich sources of these fatty acids, of which the most important are eicosapentaenoic (20:5 n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic (22:6 n-3, DHA) fatty acids. This study was designed to determine and compare fat, fatty acids and lipid qual-ity indices in 10 commercial fish species available on the Serbian market, as well as relation between their price and nutritional val-ue. Methods. Freshwater fish originated from the Danube River in the Belgrade Region, while seawater fish were mostly from the Adriatic Sea. A gas chromatography method was used to define fatty acids in 40 fish samples after lipid extraction. Cost-minimization analysis was conducted to assess the economic util-ity. Results. Seawater fish had a significantly higher value of flash lipid quality compared to the freshwater fish (p < 0.05). Value of hypercholesterolaemic fatty acids (OFA) for the freshwater group was 18.70 (17.40‒21.30) while the seawater group had a similar range of values 18.90 (17.55‒22.75). Hypocholesterol-aemic fatty acids (DFA) also showed similar ranges for both groups: 68.80 (66‒70.20) for freshwater and 68.40 (64.85‒73.05) for seawater group. The ratio of DHA/EPA ranged from 1.8 for sardine samples and up to 10 for tuna samples, indicating that the amount of DHA in natural samples exceeds the amount of EPA in many cases. The values of ath-erogenic (AI) and thrombogenic index (TI) were lower than 1 for all analysed samples. Conclusion. Sardine and mackerel had the highest content of n-3 LC-PUFA and presented the least expensive sources of EPA and DHA. The low values of AI and TI obtained from studied fish indicate its benefits from a health point of view.

Uvod/Cilj. Unos n-3 polinezasićenih masnih kiselina (PMK) je od velike važnosti u prevenciji i tretmanu različitih oboljen-ja. Generalno posmatrajući, prosečan unos n-3 PMK je obično značajno niži od utvrđenih preporuka. Lipidi riba sadrže masne kiseline n-3 serije od kojih su najvažnije ei-kozapentaenska (20:5 n-3, EPA) i dokozaheksaenska (20:6 n-3, DHA) masna kiselina. Cilj ove studije bio je odrediti i uporediti lipidni profil i lipidne indekse u 10 različitih vrsta riba dostupnih na tržištu Srbije. Takođe, određen je odnos cene i nutritivne vrednosti odabranih vrsta. Metode. Ispiti-vane su rečne ribe Dunava iz Beogradskog regiona, dok su morske ribe uglavnom vodile poreklo iz Jadranskog mora. Gasna hromatografija sa jonskim detektorom je korišćena za određivanje masnih kiselina u 40 uzoraka nakon lipidne ekstrakcije. Cost-minimization analiza je korišćena za procenu ekonomske koristi. Rezultati. Morske ribe su imale značajno veće vrednosti za parametar flash lipid quality u odnosu na rečne ribe (p < 0,05). Vrednosti hiperholesterolemijskih mas-nih kiselina za grupu rečnih riba [18,70 (17,40‒21,30)] bile su slične vrednostima dobijenim za morske ribe [18,90 (17,55‒22,75)]. Hipoholesterolemijske masne kiseline su takođe pokazale sličan raspon vrednosti za rečne [68.80 (66–70.20)] i morske ribe [68.40 (64.85–73.05)]. Odnos DHA/EPA kretao se od 1,8 za uzorke sardine, do 10 za uzorke tune, što potvrđuje činjenicu da DHA prevazilazi vrednosti za EPA u svim ispitivanim uzorcima. Vrednosti za aterogeni i trombogeni indeks su bile niže od 1 za sve ana-lizirane uzorke. Zaključak. Sardine i skuša su imale najveći sadržaj n-3 PMK i predstavljale su najekonomičniji izvor EPA i DHA. Niske vrednosti za aterogeni i trombogeni in-deks ukazuju na potencijalno povoljan zdravstveni efekat ispitivanih vrsta.