Nutrient profile of giant river-catfish Sperata seenghala (Sykes).

Abstract

The giant river-catfish (Sperata seenghala) contributes significantly to the inland fisheries production in the tropical rivers and also enjoys high consumer preference. The present study was undertaken to generate information on the nutrient profile of this commercially important species as such information is not available. Proximate composition analysis showed that moisture, crude protein, crude fat and ash contents are 79.40 ± 0.09, 20.06 ± 1.13, 1.40 ± 0.79 and 0.90 ± 0.08%, respectively. Amino acid analysis showed that the fish flesh is rich in the essential amino acids like histidine, threonine and leucine and the ratio of essential to non-essential amino acid is 0.89 indicating its superior protein quality. Fatty acid profiling showed that it is low in fat. The mineral profiles showed that this species is rich in zinc, iron and calcium. The present study showed that Sperata seenghala is a good source of lean meat and trace elements, especially zinc and iron.