Comparative study on nutritional composition of fish available in Portugal

Purpose - The Mediterranean Diet is one of the healthiest eating patterns and relies much on the regular consumption of fish, source of unsaturated fatty acids, protein, vitamins and minerals. The present study was undertaken to describe and compare the macro and micronutrients’ profile of 24 commercial fish species available in the Portuguese market. Methodology – A comparative study was undertaken based on nutritional datasheets information provided by laboratories and from database of the Portuguese National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge. Findings - The results obtained showed that most of the fish species are low fat but the gilthead (Sparus aurata) and salmon (Oncorynchus keta) are considered high in fat, with salmon presenting important amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. The blue shark (Prionace glauca) shows the highest protein while the codfish (Gadus morhua) evidenced a very high salt content. While sardine (Sardina pilchardus) is much richer in terms of vitamins as compared to the other species, with respect to minerals, they vary a lot among species. Nevertheless, it stands out the skate (Raja spp.) with high amounts of sodium, calcium and phosphorus. Statistical analysis evidenced some relations between the properties evaluated, and most especially between lipids and saturated fatty acids (r = 0.958) or monounsaturated fatty acids (r = 0.951), or even between ash and phosphorus (r = 0.817) or between carbohydrates and zinc (r = 0.903) (correlations significant with p < 0.01). Furthermore, it was possible to establish two distinct groups of fish through Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, one of them including species like salmon, sardine, seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) which are not, however, belonging to the same fat category. Practical implications - The species evaluated revealed a very important nutritional value that should be an incentive to their regular consumption. Moreover, a lack of nutritional information about some micronutrients was found in several fish species, which should be studied in future studies. Value – This paper fulfils an identified need to compare nutritional composition of fish available in Portugal.

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