<br/>In the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the USDA states that diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids have been associated with greater cardiovascular health. Consumption of fish is commonly suggested as a means to increase these essential fatty acids into a diet. Tilapia, which has become a popular and abundant fish in markets, is well managed and easily farmed in aquaculture systems. The recent movement toward aquaculture has raised several questions regarding nutritional quality of fish in regard to fresh, frozen and organic or other similar certification schemes as well as “bang for your buck”. A recent study suggested that omega-6 values in farmed tilapia are relatively high and may outweigh the health benefits of consuming fish; however, it did not focus on certification systems, culture methods, or country of origin. Additionally, within the literature, experimental protocols describing precise quantification methods are not always reported completely. The total fatty acid profile of tilapia fillets will be determined from a variety of sources to identify the relationship between fresh, frozen, type of certification and omega-6 and omega-3 content. In addition, price and country of origin as a determination factor for fatty acid content will be evaluated. The profiling protocol will use a 37 component mix of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) as a standard for each individual FAME quantified. Past studies have reported omega-6/omega-3 ratios based on peak areas rather than concentration. Preliminary results indicate that methodology can skew the quantification of fatty acids. Lower omega-6/omega-3 ratios have been observed if quantification is determined by comparison with the FAME standard, whereas if peak areas are used to quantify these compounds the omega-6/omega-3 ratio increases by 50%. Additionally, these tilapia results will be compared to ongoing studies on salmon in our laboratory.<br/>

Fatty acid analysis of tilapia

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.