Seasonal changes in fatty acid composition in Sakarya chub, Squalius pursakensis (Hankó, 1925) living in Melen river basin

Fish is considered as an essential and cheap protein source for human populations through the World. Additionally, fish provide important nutrients for human health such as trace elements, lipid-soluble vitamins and fatty acids. Lipids are biomolecules playing important role in the body. They have role of storage for energy and lipid-soluble vitamins. Furthermore, lipids are known to serve as integral components of biological membranes and to function as key intracellular and extracellular messengers. Therefore, lipids, especially unsaturated fatty acids, are necessary for human health. Melen River is located on western Black Sea region in Turkey. In the present study, total lipid and fatty acid compositions of S. pursakensis fillet samples seasonally captured from Melen River Basin were evaluated. S. pursakensis is a freshwater fish species endemic to Sakarya River, its tributaries and neighboring basins. Although, this species is consumed as food local people, there is limited data on its nutritional value. The aim of this study was to determine the total lipid amount and fatty acid composition of S. pursakensis living in Melen River basin.Total lipid levels were as 1.80% in winter, 2,56% in spring and 5,17% in summer. The composition of fatty acids showed that total polyunsaturated fatty acids (32,05-38,90%) were having highest, levels followed by monounsaturated (29,85-35,40%) and saturated (27,10-31,23%)levels.The fatty acid compositions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in fillets of S. pursakensis shows a high content n-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA C20:5n3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA C22:6n3) with maximum rates of 6,70% and 16,33%, respectively (p<0.05). The saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was dominated by palmitic acid with the maximum ratio of 19,03%. Keywords: Sakarya chub, Fatty acids, lipids, Omega-3, SFA, MUFA, PUFA, Asarsuyu Creek.