Fatty acid profiles of Trachinus radiatus Cuvier, 1829 (Perciformes‐Trachinoidei, Trachinidae)

Summary The goal of this study was to analyse the fatty acid ( FA ) profiles of the streaked (starry) weever ( Trachinus radiatus ), a prized food fish in the countries of its distribution. Fish ( N  = 20) were sampled in July 2011. Location: 42.761019°N, 17.765090°W; Adriatic Sea, Elaphite Islands near Dubrovnik, Croatia, at 5–10 m depth using longline hooks; body length ranges: 24.1–47.2 cm, weight ranges: 120–960 g. Morphological species determination was genetically confirmed (Folmer region of COI gene). Biochemical analysis of T. radiatus muscular tissue (filet) revealed average ±  SD dry matter of 252.3 ± 14.8 g/kg w.w.; moisture of 747.7 ± 14.8 g/kg w.w., and ash of 28.0 ± 6.9 g/kg w.w. Intramuscular crude protein content exceeded the total lipid ( TL  = 11.9 ± 4.0 g/kg w.w.) content approximately 17.7 fold. Unsaturated FA ( UFA ) was higher than saturated FA ( SFA ), with a predominance of polyunsaturated FA ( PUFA ). The ω3:ω6 ratio was 4.9:1, respectively. Among individually determined fatty acids, the PUFA 22:6n3 ( DHA ) was highly present (29.99 ± 2.75% TL ) followed by a relatively high 20:5n3 ( EPA ) content. There was 25 fold higher EPA content than of substrate α LNA , and a 15.5 fold higher DHA content to DPA n3. Such ratios indicate that besides trophic ingestion, FA bioconversion elongase/desaturase synthesis pathways toward ω3 PUFA in Weevers could be highly efficient.