Determination of Amino Acids Composition in Different Tissues of Whiting, Merlangus merlangus euxinus (Nordmann, 1840) from the Black Sea, Turkey

Abstract

LC-MS/MS was used to determine the amino acid composition in muscle, ovary and liver of whiting, Merlangus merlangus euxinus, caught off the coast of Sinop province in the Black Sea. A total of 19 amino acids (AA) were found in the different samples. The essential amino acids (EAA) in the different tissues of whiting were 55.9% in the meat, 54.8% in the ovary and 51.7% in the liver of the total amino acids. The AA contents except for Arg, Glu, Pro and Tau in meat and ovary of whiting were not significantly different (P > 0.05), but the AA contents except for Cys, Tyr, Asp, Orn and Tau of these two tissues were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the AA contents of the liver. These results showed that whiting ovaries have approximately as much protein as the meat.