Analysis and evaluation of nutritional components in meat of cultured Pangasius bocourti

Nutritional components in the meat of Pangasius bocourti from Yingshan of Hubei Province were analyzed and nutritive quality was evaluated.The contents of general nutrients,amino acids,fatty acids and mineral elements were determined with the current national standard method.The results showed that the contents of moisture,crude protein,crude fat and ash in the meat of P. bocourti were 75.36%?1.07%, 17.90%?0.43%,5.13%?0.18% and 0.98%?0.09% respectively.The total content of eighteen common amino acids was(69.01?0.07)g/100 g(dry weight),among which 5 kinds of delicious amino acids and 8 kinds of essential amino acids for human body accounted for 41.70%, and 48.68% respectively.The ratio of essential amino acids to non-essential amino acids was 95.06%.The constitutional rate of the essential amino acids accorded with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization(FAO/WHO)Standards.According to nutrition evaluation in amino acid score(AAS) and chemical score(CS),the first limited amino acid was Tryptophan(Trp)and the second limited amino acid was Valine(Val).There were 24 kinds of fatty acids in crude fat,among which the content of oleic acid was the highest 38.41%?0.29% and the ratio of total mono-unsaturated fatty acids content to total fatty acids content in this fish was 42.68%?0.10%.The ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA)was 1.48.Potassium(K)was the most predominant mineral element found in meat and its content was(1 118.51?30.67) mg/100 g(dry weight).In trace elements,the contents of iron(Fe)and zinc(Zn)were(1.19?0.10) mg/100 g(dry weight),(1.18?0.05) mg/100 g(dry weight).Compared with other fish species,the meat of P.bocourti had a high quality in protein with well-balanced essential amino acid composition and was rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and mineral elements. It indicated that P. bocourti was one of freshwater fishes with high nutritional value.