Fatty acid profile and meat utility of wild and cultured zander, Sander lucioperca [L.]

Abstract

ABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONMATERIALS AND METHODSRESULTSDISCUSSIONCONCLUSIONSREFERENCES ABSTRACT In this study, meat utility and fatty acid profiles were compared between the zander living under natural conditions (in a lake)and in cultures, the latter fed either natural food (roach, perch, rudd) or an artificial feed (a commercial pelleted trout feed).The three groups differed in the fat content of their meat, the highest and the lowest fat contents (2.87 and 0.96%,respectively) being shown in the commercial feed-kept and in the wild zander, respectively. Protein and mineral compoundscontents showed no significant differences. Muscle lipids of the three groups differed in the total contents of MUFA andPUFA: the lowest MUFA content (21.36%) was typical of the wild zander meat, while the lowest PUFA content (41.06%)was revealed in the commercial feed-fed fish. No differences were detected between the total contents of n-3PUFA, n-6PUFA, and the n-3/n-6 ratio. The content of long-chain n-3 PUFA in the meat was 2-4 times that in the food, while thecontent of long-chain n-6 PUFA was equal to or lower than that of the food. This suggests that the shorter-chain (C18) n-3fatty acids become elongated and desaturated in the zander body, which leads to the formation of long-chain acids,particularly DHA.