Abstract:

In this paper, the changes in fatty acids of white croaker (Argyrosomus amoyensis) during the salting and
drying processes were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and relevant indicators of lipid
oxidation including peroxide value (POV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) were measured to reveal
the relationship between the fatty acid composition and lipid oxidation. The results showed that white croaker contained
24 fatty acids including 26.41% saturated fatty acids (SFA), 20.26% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and 53.33%
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); 12.49% essential fatty acids; and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) together accounting for 40.70% of the total fatty acids. During salting the content of SFA significantly increased
whereas those of MUFA and PUFA significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Both POV and TBARS values increased first and
then decreased, showing their peaks on day 1 and day 3, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that the increase in SFA
was negatively significantly related to MUFA (P < 0.05), and was highly negatively related to PUFA (P < 0.01). However,
there was no correlation between MUFA and PUFA; SFA was positively significantly related to POV and TBARS (P < 0.05)
whereas PUFA was negatively related to POV (P < 0.05) and highly negatively related to TBARS (P < 0.01). Thus, white
croaker was rich in unsaturated fatty acids and the salting process had significant influences on eight major fatty acids. More
SFAs were produced in response to lipid peroxidation while significantly decreasing the contents of MUFA and PUFA were
sed. PUFA were more susceptible to lipid oxidation.

Key words: Argyrosomus amoyensis, salting, fatty acid, lipid oxidation