Chemical composition and lipids classes of the freshwater fish tilapia do Nilo, Oreochomis niloticus

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to quantify lipid classes founded in fillets of Tilapia do Nilo, Oreochomis niloticus. The total lipids (TL) were fractionated by open column chromatography in neutral lipids (NL), glyceroglycolipids (GL) and glycerophospholipid (PL). Five lots of samples, each one containing four specimens, were obtained from retail stores in Fortaleza (Ceará State - Brazil) in sep, oct, nov and dec of 2011. The TL was averaged in 3.8% of muscle, on wet mass basis.  The dominant lipid class was NL averaging at 74.5% in relation to the TL or 2.9g/100g of fillet. The GL and PL contributed on average with 1.5% (61mg/100g of fillet) and 23.1% (885mg/100g of fillet), respectively. The approximate composition had average of 76.0% moisture, 19.3% total protein, and 2.0% ash.