Fatty Acids Profile, Atherogenic (IA) and Thrombogenic (IT) Health Lipid Indices, of Raw Roe of Blue Fin Tuna ( Thunnus thynnus L.) and Their Salted Product “Bottarga”

Abstract

The fatty acids composition and the related health lipid indices (IA, atherogenic and IT thrombogenic) of Blue Fin Tuna’s (Thunnus thynnus L.) raw roe and their cured product bottarga, both considered a delicacy, were studied. The fatty acid (FA) composition of tuna’s roe and bottarga showed a relevant proportion (40.87% and 36.62% respectively) of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with a prevalence of the n – 3 series, that showed values almost ten folds higher than those of n – 6 fatty acids, in both classes of analyzed samples. The IA and IT indices resulted comparable in tuna’s roe and in the bottarga samples respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed report on the fatty acids composition and the related lipid health indices in tuna’s raw roe and in their cured product “bottarga”.