engleski

Fish Lipids as a Source of Healthy Components: Fatty Acids from Mediterranean Fish

From the time when the epidemiological work on Greenland Eskimos suggested a possible correlation between a low incidence of heart disease and the consumption of seafood, a considerable number of studies have been done on the role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in human health and diseases. A substantial number of experiments have indicated that consumption of fish oils rich in n-3 PUFA has different health benefits including cardiovascular health improving, properly fetal development, anti-inflammatory effects and chronic disease alleviation. The natural sources of n-3 PUFA are foremost fish lipids, especially those of marine origin. The two most important n-3 PUFA are eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3, DHA). EPA and DHA have been largely investigated and their positive biological effects have been demonstrated from feeding studies with fish or fish oil supplements. Therefore, the nutritional importance of fish consumption is associated with their n-3 PUFA components and the recommendation, particularly for high-risk populations, to increase the dietary intake of n-3 PUFA through the consumption of fish is justified. These findings have created a new market for fish oil as a source of healthy components. Many products based on fish oil fatty acids such as dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals as well as other products with technical and cosmetic applications based on fish oil fatty acids have been developed and produced commercially. Knowledge about the presence of important constituents and the fatty acid composition of the lipid fractions is essential in the assessment of diet evaluation. Likewise, data on fatty acid composition are needed by food scientists and nutritionists for dietary formulation, processing and product development. In the last decade a significant number of fatty acid compositional data for a number of marine, freshwater and cultured fish from different parts of the world have been published. However, fatty acid compositions of Mediterranean, especially Adriatic Sea fish species have not been investigated thoroughly. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine and review the fatty acid compositions of the common two-banded seabream (Diplodus vulgaris, L.), the sea eel (Conger conger, L.) and the white seabream (Diplodus sargus, L.), which are appreciated fish species in the Mediterranean diet, and have an important place in the fishing activity of Mediterranean countries. This review deals with the fatty acid characterization of fish liver (D. vulgaris and D. sargus) and edible muscle tissue lipid fractions. The fatty acid compositions of neutral (triacylglycerols, TAG) and polar (phosphatidylinositol, PI ; phosphatidylserine, PS ; phosphatidylcholine, PC ; and phosphatidylethanolamine, PE) lipid classes were analyzed in different fish species in different seasons. The fatty acid composition showed a noticeable pattern of seasonality that reflected fluctuations mainly in neutral lipids. The results of this study indicated that analyzed fish species are a good source of natural n-3 PUFA and would therefore be suitable for inclusion in highly unsaturated low-fat diets. Likewise, fish lipids could serve as a good source of biomedically significant components if used as raw material for products based on fish oil fatty acids.

Fish, Fatty acids, Marine lipids, Health, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea

nije evidentirano