Comparative study on muscle nutritional composition of juvenile bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) and paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) fed live feed

The contents of the proximate composition of amino acids and fatty acids in the muscle of juvenile bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) and paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) that were fed with live feed for 60 days were assessed in this investigation. The moisture, crude protein, and crude ash contents of bighead carp muscle were slightly higher than those of paddlefish (P 0.05). The crude fat content of paddlefish muscle was significantly higher than that of bighead carp (P 0.01). Seventeen amino acids were detected in the muscle of both bighead carp and paddlefish. The total concentrations of amino acids (TAAs), essential amino acids (EAAs), and delicious amino acids (DAAs) in the muscle of bighead carp were higher than in those of paddlefish. Fifteen fatty acids were detected in both bighead carp and paddlefish muscles, including 5 saturated fatty acids (SFAs), 4 monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The concentrations of muscle Σ SFAs, Σ MUFAs, Σ PUFAs, Σ UFAs, Σ SFAs/Σ UFAs, Σ n-6 PUFAs, Σ n-3 PUFAs, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), EPA + docosahexenoic acid (DHA), essential fatty acids (EFAs), and half–essential fatty acids (HEFAs) in bighead carp were significantly lower than those in paddlefish (P 0.01). In addition, bighead carp possessed significantly lower muscle Σ n-6 PUFAs/Σ n-3 PUFAs content than paddlefish did (P 0.05). Muscle DHA content of bighead carp was higher than that of paddlefish (P 0.05).