Effects of cooking on lipid content and fatty acids profile of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) fillets during the first three days storage

Despite its high qualitative intrinsic traits, farmed meagre (Argyrosomus regius) is still a niche species, very little known to European consumers. Fish fatty acids (FA) profile is characterized by moderately high C20:5 (EPA) and C22:6 (DHA)n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents, having beneficial effects on human health. Storage and cooking process can cause lipid loss, enough to modify raw fish nutritional content. Aim of this study was to describe the effect of cooking on lipid content and on FA profile of meagre during the first 3 days of storage (1°C). Fish (n. 72) were sampled from cage and tank in the farm “Il Vigneto” (Grosseto, Italy), analyzing 6 fish from cage and tank per day. Left and right fillets were analyzed raw and steam cooked (10 min), respectively. Total lipids content and FA profile were determined. Data were analysed by PROC GLM procedure including fish weight, rearing method, sampling date, storage day and the interaction (rearing method x storage day) in the model. Fillets showed a low lipid content (2.59%). During storage cooking yields decreased (96.5 to 94.9%; p<0.05) whereas lipids and FA true retention (%TR) did not show a significant decrease. PUFA %TR ranged from 98.9 to 91.0%, without showing a significant decrease for both n-6 and n-3 FA groups, however. Among n-3 fatty acids, DHA showed the highest average %TR (97.58% at the 3rd day). Steam cooking did not seem to affect the lipid content and FA profile of meagre in the first 3 days of storage. Since any losses of lipid and fatty acid contents can be important for a lean fish, as the meagre is, further researches should be directed to individuate conditions of cooking with lower impacts in the nutritional quality of flesh.