Nutritional Value of Seven Freshwater Fish Species From the Brazilian Pantanal

Abstract

Abstract This study determined the proximate composition and fatty acid profile of the lipid fraction in muscle tissue (fillet) of seven fish species from the Miranda River, Brazil. Total lipid content had the largest coefficient of variation among species (73%), while protein content had the smallest (4.5%), allowing Pimelodus argenteus (mandi‐prateado) to be categorized as lean fish; Pimelodus maculatus (mandi‐amarelo), Hemisorubim platyrhynchos (jurupoca), and Pinirampus pirinampu (barbado) as species with medium fat content, and Paulicea luetkeni (jaú) and Surubim lima (jurupensém) as fatty fish. In all the species investigated, palmitic acid (23.76–25.99%) was the predominant saturated fatty acid. Oleic acid (16.09–32.90%) was the most abundant monounsaturated fatty acid. Total omega‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (5.99–15.56%) were the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acids, except in Ageneiosus brevifilis (palmito), in which total omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids predominated (10.30%). All the species had favorable indices of nutritional quality for total lipids, with respect to human consumption.