Lipid content and fatty acid composition of 15 marine fish species from the southeast coast of Brazil

Lipid content and fatty acid composition were determined in edible meat of fifteen marine fish species caught on the Southeast Brazilian coast and two from East Antarctic. Most of the fish had lipid amounts lower than 10% of their total weight. Palmitic acid (C16:0) predominated, accounting for 54-63% of the total amount of saturated fatty acids. Oleic acid (C18:1n-9) was the most abundant (49-69%) monounsaturated fatty acid, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), accounting for 31-84% of n-3 PUFA. n-3 PUFA level were highest in Antarctic fish meat, comprising 45% of the total fatty acid content, which consisted of mainly EPA (16.1 +/- 1.5 g/100 g lipids) and DHA (24.8 +/- 2.4 g/100 g lipids). The amounts of EPA + DHA in g/100 g of lipids on the Southeast Brazilian coast and Antarctic fish species investigated were found to be similar: 42.0 +/- 1.7 for Bonito cachorro, 41.0 +/- 2.3 for Atum. and 39.4 +/- 1.8 for peixe porco, respectively. All the studied species exhibited an n-3/n-6 ratio higher than 3, which confirms the great importance of Southeast Brazilian coast fish as a significant dietary source of n-3 PUFA.