Proximate and fatty acid composition of three tuna species from Hadhramout coast of the Arabian Sea, Yemen

Abstract

The Proximate and fatty acid composition were evaluated in three species of tuna; Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus
albacares), longtail tuna (T. tonggol), little tuna (Euthynnus affinis) caught from Hadhramout coast of the Arabian
Sea. The results of proximate composition showed high protein content in the flesh of all species, ranged from
22.52% to 24.36%. The average moisture, lipid and ash contents in the flesh of the three fish species were in the
range of 70.13–74.0%, 2.34–4.66% and 1.25–1.37%, respectively. Fatty acid profile of all fish was dominated by
saturated fatty acids, (31.76–36.77%), followed by polyunsaturated fatty acids (31.21–31.59%) and then
monounsaturated fatty acids (20.58–25.87%). Palmitic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and oleic acid were the
most abundant fatty acids in the flesh of all species, with values in the range of 19.69–24.05%, 18.49–20.48% and
11.62–15.75%, respectively. The flesh of all fish contained almost similar levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (omega-3 PUFA), ranging from 26.60 to 27.08%. The majority of these omega-3 PUFA was primarily
contributed by DHA (69.51–75.63%), then eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 13.98–17.52%). These results demonstrate
that the three species of tuna studied in the present work are excellent sources of protein and the health-beneficial
omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.