Analysis and evaluation of chemical components of muscles of Pangasius hypophthalmus

Chemical components of muscle of Pangasius hypophthalmus cultivated in ponds were analyzed and evaluated in this study.The results showed that contents of moisture,crude protein,crude fat and ash in fresh muscle of P. hypophthalmus were79.56%,17.44%,2.07%,1.11%,respectively.Eighteen kinds of amino acids were detected in its muscle,in which the contents of total amino acids( TAA),essential amino acids( EAA) and non- essential amino acids( NEAA) were 79.90%,32.32% and47.58%( dry basis) respectively. The ratios of EAA / TAA and EAA / NEAA in its muscle were 40.45% and 67.93%,respectively.These data suggest that the EAA profile of the muscle of P. hypophthalmus can meet completely the FAO / WHO standard.According to amino acids score( AAS) and chemical score( CS),lysine was the most abundant while tryptophan was the main limiting amino acid in the muscle. Besides,the essential amino acids index( 78.59) or the content of delicious amino acids( 30.80% of dry basis) of muscle of P.hypophthalmus was both higher than those of some economic fish species.Total lipids were characterized by high percentages of saturated fatty acids( 43.70% of total fatty acid),low percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids( 18.31% of total fatty acids) and very low percentages of docosapentenoic acid( 0.50% of total fatty acids) and docosahexaenoic acid( 0.42% of total fatty acids) in its muscle. The P: S ratio was 0.42. These results indicate that P.hypophthalmus can be an excellent source of protein and lysine,a potential source of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low- fat food for human.