Nutrients, Inorganic Substances And Microbial Evaluations Of Some Commercially Important Coastal Fish Species

Abstract

Mineral, proximate, amino acids, microbial and chemical compositions of Pomadasy Jubelini, Coptodon zillii, Mugil
cephalus and Cyprinus carpio were assessed to ascertain the wholesomeness and health risk associated with consuming the most common sort after fish species in Lagos coastal water. A total of twelve fish samples (three specimens each) were collected from different landing sites with the samples iced and taken to the Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical laboratory sections of the College of Medicine University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria for analysis. The iced samples were maintained in alternate layers of ice until spoilage was noticed. Bligh and dye standard method as described by AOAC was used to evaluate the nutritional and mineral compositions while chemical analysis was conducted using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Soxhlet Extraction methods. Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA), Acid Value (AV) and Peroxide Value (PV) were also determined. Statistical difference between species was done using one way ANOVA with Significance established at (p<0.05). The result indicates higher Trimethylamine value Total Enterprise Value (TEV) (11.23±0.13 mg N/kg), PV (5.49±0.01 mg N/kg), Total Volatile Nitrogen (TVN) (27.99±0.25 mg/kg) for M. cephalus than other fish samples except for TBA (7.89±0.26 mg/kg) content which was highest in C. zillii but within the standard limits. Higher mean mould load recorded were (5.71±0.20), (9.58±0.00), (7.07±0.07) and (5.04±0.02) for P. Jubelini, C. zillii, M. Cephalus, C. carpio respectively. The results indicated a notable quality improvement leading to a high quality fish in terms of shelf life, quality and market value. None of the fish samples exceeded the mould load limit for fish there by exhibited no risk on public health. Therefore the fish are wholesome and safe for human consumption.