Abstract

HENNING, Suné S.  and  HOFFMAN, Louwrens C.. Proximate and fatty acid composition of cooked South African Cape snoek (Thyrsites atun). S. Afr. j. sci. [online]. 2017, vol.113, n.5-6, pp.1-4. ISSN 1996-7489.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2017/20160161.

Cape snoek (Thyrsites atun) is an important source of protein for people in South Africa; however, nutritional information thereof is limited. The proximate and fatty acid compositions of raw and cooked (80 °C) snoek muscles were determined according to official AOAC methods. The mean moisture, ash, total lipids and protein for raw snoek were 72.8±1.86%, 1.3±0.09%, 4.0±1.16 and 21.5±1.35%, respectively. Cape snoek is very high in palmitic acid (24.65±1.43%), oleic acid (18.21±2.64%), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 9.11±2.06%) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 19.70±3.25%). With the exception of total lipids, cooking significantly reduced moisture (69.40±2.03%) and ash (1.12±0.12%), and increased protein (24.47±1.39%) content. It is concluded that Cape snoek is very high in protein and can be classified as a low-fat fish which is rich in EPA and DHA. SIGNIFICANCE: • Cape snoek is a low-fat fish, containing less than 4% fat, and is high in EPA (9.11±2.06%) and DHA (19.70±3.25%). • Cape snoek is thus a healthy, cheap and high-protein food source, with a high content of omega-3 fatty acids.

Keywords : eicosapentaenoic acid; docosahexaenoic acid; protein content; boiling; snoek.

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