Comparative evaluation of the nutritional quality of male versus female freshwater Mud Eel, Monopterus cuchia

Abstract

The nutritional quality in muscle, focusing on the proximate, amino acids, fatty acids and minerals compositions of Monopterus cuchia were analyzed, depending on the sex. No significant differences were observed in proximate compositions between male and female fish. The predominant amino acids were glutamic acid, aspartic acid, lysine, leucine and arginine in both muscles of both sexes and only glutamic acid showed the significant sexual dependency. The ratio of essential and non-essential amino acids was similar (0.67) in both sexes. For fatty acids, the female had the higher percentage of total MUFAs and PUFAs than the male counterpart. The heptadecanoic acid, pentadecanoic acid and palmitic acid were the primary SFAs, which varied significantly between sexes. The most abundant MUFA (i.e. palmitoleic acid) also showed the sexual dependency. No such significant variation was found in eicosapentaenoic acid (dominated fatty acid of PUFAs group) content. Minerals were found in order of K>Na>Ca>Mg> Mn>Zn, with Na/K ratio of 0.20 in male and 0.21 in female. Based on the nutritive values, M. cuchia can be considered as a nutritionally enriched food item for the human diet.