Chemical composition and fatty acid profile of common Kilka , Clupeonella cultriventris caspia

The objective of the present study was to determine chemical composition and fatty acid profile of common Kilka ,Clupeonella cultriventris caspia, in the Caspian Sea. The chemical analysis revealed that the protein and lipid content of common Kilka were 15.05 and 6.5% of the fresh weight, and total MUFA, PUFA and SFA were found to be 37.00, 32.89 and 29.03% respectively. Palmitic acid (16:0) among total SFAs, oleic acid (18:1n-9) among MUFAs, Docosahexanoid acid (DHA) (22:6n-3) among n-3 PUFAs and linoleic acid (LA) (18:2n-6) among n-6 PUFAs were the most abundant fatty acids. The obtained results revealed that common Kilka is a better source of ?-3 PUFAs than ?-6. DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were the major components of ?-3 PUFAs. Levels of DHA and EPA were 20.79% and 6.97% respectively. The PUFA/SFA ratio was 1.13 in common Kilka. This ratio was more than the recommended minimum value (0.45).The EPA/DHA ratio was 0.34 in common Kilka. The present study suggests that common Kilka is rich in essential unsaturated fatty acids of the ?-3 family, especially DHA which may be considered nutritionally attractive for human.