Proximate Composition and Fatty Acid Profile in Different Tissues of Wild Adult Female Coilia mystus in Yangtze Estuary

The proximate composition and fatty acid profile in 3 tissues (muscle, liver and ovary) of wild female Coilia mystus in breeding stage were analyzed using the national standard method. The results indicated that: (1) The total fat contents in muscle, liver and ovary were 2.04% ± 0.22%, 11.96% ± 0.77% and 28.46% ± 0.63%, respectively. (2) The muscle contained the most content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and the least content of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (p less than 0.05). The content of SFA and MUFA between liver and ovary showed no significant differences (p>0.05). The content of poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was significantly different among these 3 tissues (p less than 0.05): highest in the ovary and the lowest in the muscle. Within PUFAs, the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was highest, reaching 8.41% ± 1.18%, 7.64% ± 0.12% and 10.46 % ± 0.45% in muscle, liver and ovary, respectively. PUFA, n-3PUFA, DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were all highest in the ovary.