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Absorption by Channel Catfish of Earthy‐musty Flavor Compounds Synthesized by Cultures of Blue‐green Algae
Author(s) -
Lovell Richard T.,
Sackey Lewis A.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1973)102<774:abccoe>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - catfish , algae , flavor , geosmin , blue green algae , odor , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , botany , food science , chemistry , fishery , cyanobacteria , bacteria , genetics , neuroscience
An objectionable “earthy‐musty” flavor is frequently found in intensively‐cultured catfish which renders the fish unmarketable. Fifty‐gram channel catfish were held in 150‐liter stainless‐steel tanks containing dense masses of either Symploca muscorum or Oscillatoria tenuis to determine the capability of these geosmin‐producing blue‐green algae to impart this type of offflavor in the fish. Within 2 days the fish had acquired distinct earthy‐musty flavor similar to the odor of the algae. Flavor intensity reached a maximum at 10 days. When fish which had been in the algae tanks for 14 days were transferred to flowing, charcoal‐filtered water, the flavor disappeared after 10 days. Fish held in tanks containing algae‐free filtrate from the algae culture tanks acquired the off‐flavor but at a slower rate than the fish in the culture tanks. This indicated that the fish could absorb the flavor compounds without ingesting the algae, possibly across the gill membranes.