Resumen de Time course of muscle fatty acid composition of cultured meagre (Argyrosomus regius) during the first sixteen months of a cage culture
S. García Mesa, M.D. Suárez, M. A. Rincón Cervera, José Luis Guil Guerrero, G. González
Juvenile meagre were sampled at intervals during their first 500 days in a cage-based fish farm. Fish muscle showed a relatively low fat content (0.65�2.0%) when compared with other species of farmed fish, corroborating the consideration of meagre as a lean fish. At the beginning of the assay, saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were in a similar proportion (approximately 30%), while polyunsaturated were close to 39% of total FAs, the n-3:n-6 ratio being of 3.8. Throughout the experiment a notable reduction in the sum of PUFA n-3 and an increase of linoleic (18:2n-6) and oleic acid (18:1n-9) was found. These changes led to a fall of n-3:n-6 ratio to values close to or lower than 1.0. Most probably, these changes reflect variations in the feeding regime applied during farming. In any case, fish offered good indices of lipid quality for human consumption.
