Fatty Acid Composition and Levels of Selected Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Four Commercial Important Freshwater Fish Species from Lake Victoria, Tanzania

Abstract

Fatty acids (FAs) particularly ω 3 and ω 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play important role in human health. This study aimed to investigate the composition and levels of selected ω 3 PUFAs in four commercial fish species, Nile perch ( Lates niloticus ), Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ), Tilapia zillii , and dagaa ( Rastrineobola argentea ) from Mwanza Gulf in Lake Victoria. The results indicated that 36 types of FAs with different saturation levels were detected. These FAs were dominated by docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA), and eicosatetraenoic acids. O. niloticus had the highest composition of FAs (34) compared to L. niloticus (27), T. zillii (26), and R. argentea (21). The levels of EPA differed significantly among the four commercial fish species ( F = 6.19 ,   P = 0.001 ) . The highest EPA levels were found in R. argentea followed by L. niloticus and O. niloticus and the lowest in T. zillii . The DPA levels showed no significant difference among the four fish species studied ( F = 0.652 ,   P = 0.583 ) . The study concluded that all four commercial species collected from Mwanza Gulf are good for human health, but R. argentea is the best for consumption because it contains higher levels of ω 3 FAs, mainly EPA.