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E-mail:
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JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS (2001) 14, 565}574
doi:10.1006/jfca.2001.1025
Available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Fatty Acids Profile and Cholesterol Contents of Three Brazilian
Brycon Freshwater Fishes
Altair B. Moreira, JesumH V. Visentainer, Nilson E. de Souza, and Makoto Matsushita
Department of Chemistry, State University of Maringa& , Av. Colombo, 5790~CEP 87020-900 Maringa& ,
Parana& State, Brazil
Received December 22, 2000, and in revised form July 23, 2001
This study was carried out to determine the cholesterol and fatty acids in muscle tissue ("let) of
three in natura species of Brazilian "shes Brycon cephalus (matrinxa ), B. microlepis (piraputanga)
and B. orbignyanus (piracanjuba). The non-native "shes were collected in farms (cultured in pond
and cages) near MaringaH . The native species were collected in CuiabaH }Manso rivers (B. micro-
lepis), and ParanaH river (B. orbignyanus) that belong to the Platina hydrographic basin. Di!er-
ences were observed (P(0.05) for moisture (70.48}74.06%), ashes (1.05}1.32) and crude protein
(18.84}20.03%). The total lipids and cholesterol contents were found in the range of 2.49}7.94%
and 40.99}52.79 mg/100 g, respectively. The native species presented the smallest values when
compared to the non-native. All species presented oleic acid, C18:1n-9, as predominant,
(38.34}48.77%), followed by palmitic acid, C16:0, (21.90}26.57%) and stearic acid, C18:0,
(8.32}15.66%). The largest amount of total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was observed in the
wild B. microlepis (3.61%) and B. orbignyanus (3.06%). 2001 Academic Press
Key =ords: Brycon; lipids; fatty acids; cholesterol; PUFA.
INTRODUCTION
Studies in animals and epidemiological and clinical research have demonstrated that
n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) are important for normal biological
functions, to regulate the metabolism of the prostaglandins and reduce triacyl-
glycerols level (Greene and Selivonchick, 1987; Weaver and Holob, 1988; Simopoulos,
1991). Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is often associated with the protection of cardio-
vascular health, since its presence in the tissues allows the regulation of activities
involved with the metabolism of plasma lipids, with the aggregation of the platelets
and the process of blood coagulation (Leaf and Kang, 1998).
Nutritionists believe that the desirable ratio n-6/n-3 (n-6 to n-3 fatty acids) should be
5 and that the addition of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) could improve
the nutritional picture and thus, help in the prevention of diseases. Rice (1996)
suggested that the amount of EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) daily ingested
should be about 200}1000 mg. Simopoulos (1991) recommends the daily ingestion of
800}1100 mg of linolenic acid (LNA, C18:3n-3), and from 300 to 400 mg of long-chain
n-3 PUFA.
0889}1575/01/060565#10 $35.00/0 2001 Academic Press
Relatively abundant amounts of n-3 PUFA were found in marine organisms, both
vegetals (algae, microalgae and phytoplankton) (Simopoulos, 1991) and animals ("sh,
crustaceans and mammals) (Ackman, 1967, 1989; Valenzuela and Garrido, 1998).
However, small amounts of n-3 PUFA were found in freshwater organisms, both
animals and vegetals (Andrade et al., 1995; Maia et al., 1998).
Freshwater "shes are also of interest because they seem to have a greater capacity
than marine "shes to elongate and desaturate the shorter FA, synthesized by algae or
plants, into the longer EPA and DHA (Bell et al., 1986; Henderson and Tocher, 1987;
Linares and Henderson, 1991), to convert food of lower nutritional value into food of
higher nutritional value.
The modern aquaculture, based mostly on grain-feeding, produces "sh with smaller
n-3 levels than in natural rivers and lakes (Simopoulos and Salem, 1989; Vanvliet and
Katan, 1990). Other studies con"rmed that the "sh diet has a great in#uence on
their general chemical composition, and especially, on the fatty acid composition
(Henderson and Tocher, 1987).
The genus Brycon, having about 60 con"rmed species (Froese and Pauly, 2000),
presents a wide geographical distribution, and Brycon cephalus (matrinxa ), and
B. microlepis (piraputanga) and B. orbignyanus (piracanjuba) are the principal repre-
sentatives of Amazon and Platina Hydrographic Basins, respectively. Nowadays these
species are of great interest for research institutions, due to their excellent meat quality
and to the alimentary habit in the natural habitat, chie#y composed of fruits and
seeds. The fast growth and weight increase, demonstrated in experimental cultures,
are, without doubt, good indicators for the selection of those species as alternatives for
the development of "sh farming in several areas of Brazil.
The objectives of this study were the determination of water, ash, protein, lipids,
cholesterol, and fatty acids of muscle tissues ("let) of Brycon cephalus, B. microlepis
and B. orbignyanus cultured in ponds and cages of "sh farm, and natives B. microlepis
and B. orbignyanus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sampling
The experiment was carried out using three species of Brazilian "shes, Brycon cephalus
(matrinxa ), B. microlepis (piraputanga) and B. orbignyanus (piracanjuba), cultured
in the Pesqueiro do Pacu "sh farm (ponds size 50 m;20 m;2 m), and Capivari
dam in Paranapanema river (cages size 1.5 m;1.5 m;1.5 m), and natives (wilds)
from CuiabaH }Manso rivers (B. microlepis) and Porto Primavera dam in ParanaH river
(B. orbignyanus) (Fig. 1). The "shes were collected in the period of September}
December 1999. The samples consisted of three lots, each containing "ve "sh per
species, and their weights ranged from 650 to 850 g. Species grown in ponds and cages
systems had diets containing, approximately, protein (40, 36 and 28%) and fat (12,
6 and 5%), for "ngers, juveniles and adult "shes, respectively (Table 1). All samples
were stored in freezer (!183C), and analyses were carried out in triplicates, using
homogenized muscle tissue ("let) samples.
Muscle issue ( ,let) Composition
Water, ash and crude protein contents were determined as described by Cunni!
(1998).
Total lipids were extracted from the muscle tissues using Bligh and Dyer (1959)
method. Filets (15$0.0001 g) were homogenized with 90 mL of chloroform}methanol
566 MOREIRA E A.
FIGURE 1. Brazilian hydrographic Basins (I) and Platina Basin (II). A: (23317S; 51350W) Pesqueiro do
Pacu "sh farm ("sh cultured in ponds); B: (22330S; 51320W) Capivari dam of Centrais Ele& tricas de SaJo
Paulo2CESP ("sh cultured in cages); C: (22325S; 52355W) Porto Primavera dam of CESP (collected wild
Brycon orbignyanus); D: (14345S; 56320W) CuiabaH and Manso rivers (collected wild Brycon microlepis).
Source: ANEEL (2000); ABRH (2000).
TABLE 1
Crude protein and total lipids (in 100 g) of diets (commercial feeds) used in the treatment of species cultured
in "sh farm
Fish Fingers Juveniles Adults
Crude protein (g) 40.1$2.3 35.9$2.2 28.2$1.9
Total lipids (g) 11.9$0.9 6.1$0.5 5.2$0.3
Note: Each value is an average of three samples, with its standard deviations.
(2:1 v/v) solution and stirred for 2 min, using a blender, followed by the addition of
30 mL of chloroform and 30 mL of deionized water. This mixture was once more
stirred for another 2 min. Then, a 0.58% aqueous NaCl solution was added to the
mixture, causing the chloroform layer (containing lipid) to separate from the meth-
anol}water phase. The lipid extract solution was transferred to a 250 mL #ask and the
solvent evaporated under a stream of nitrogen. The lipid content was gravimetrically
determined.
FATTY ACIDS AND CHOLESTEROL IN BRAZILIAN FISHES 567
Cholesterol Analysis
The extraction and quanti"cation of cholesterol were carried out by the method of
Al-Hasani et al. (1993). Samples of the muscle tissue (10$0.0001 g) were placed in
a 250 mL #at-bottom #ask. The sample was dispersed in an ethanol}methanol}
isopropanol (90:5:5 v/v/v) solution, in an amount equivalent to 6 mL/g sample, and
60% KOH in an amount of 1 mL per gram of sample. The #ask containing the
mixture was connected to a water-cooled condenser, and re#uxed for 1 h. After
cooling the digest to room temperature, 100 mL of hexane was added, and the mixture
was stirred for 10 min. Next, 25 mL of deionized water was added and the mixture
stirred for another 15 min. The layers were then separated and the hexane layer was
collected in a #ask. An aliquot of 25 mL from the hexane layer was evaporated to
dryness under a stream of nitrogen. The residue was dissolved in 2 mL of hexane
containing 0.2 mg of 5-cholestane, used as internal standard, per mL and transferred
to a sample vial. Cholesterol analyses were done using 3 L of this solution injected
into a gas chromatograph (Shimadzu 14 A, Japan) "tted with #ame ionization
detector (FID, 3003C) and a split/splitless injector (2603C, split 1:150). Separation was
carried out (3003C) in a fused silica capillary column (25 m, 0.25 mm i.d.), coated with
SE-30 (0.25 m phase thickness). The carrier gas was hydrogen (1.5 mL/min) and the
makeup gas was nitrogen (25 mL/min). Cholesterol identi"cations were made by
comparing the relative retention time peaks from samples with standards from
Sigma (U.S.A.). For peak integration a CG-300 Computing Integrater program
(CG Instruments, Brazil) was used.
ransesteri,cation and Fatty Acid Analyses
Methyl esters were prepared by transmethylation, using KOH 2 mol/L in methanol
and n-heptane, according to method 5509 of the ISO (1978). Fatty acid methyl esters
(FAME) were analyzed using a Shimadzu 14A (Japan) gas chromatograph equipped
with #ame ionization detector and fused silica capillary column (50 m;0.25 mm and
0.20 m of Carbowax 20M). The column temperature was programmed at 23C/min
from150 to 2403C. The injection port and detector were maintained at 220 and 2453C,
respectively. The carrier gas was hydrogen (1.2 mL/min) and the makeup gas was
nitrogen (30 mL/min). The split used was 1:100. The identi"cation of fatty acids was
made by comparing the relative retention times of FAME peaks from samples with
standards from Sigma (U.S.A.). The peak areas were determined by the CG-300
Computing Integrater program (CG Instruments, Brazil). Data were calculated as
normalized area percentages of fatty acids.
Statistical Analysis
The experimental data, shown as mean$standard deviations, were statistically
compared by Tukey test at 5% with one-way ANOVA as described by Montgomery
(1997). Data were processed in the Statistica 5.1 software by StatSoft, U.S.A. (1996).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 shows commercial feeds composition used in the treatment of species grown in
"sh farm, and Table 2 shows the fatty acids pro"le of these feeds.
Table 3 shows muscle tissue contents (water, ash, crude protein, total lipids, and
cholesterol) of Brycon microlepis and B. orbignyanus natives and species grown in "sh
568 MOREIRA E A.
TABLE 2
Fatty acids pro"le (wt%) of diets (commercial feeds) used in the treatment of species cultured in "sh farm
Fatty acids Fingers Juveniles Adults
C14:0 1.57$0.04 1.14$0.05 0.61$0.00
iC16:0 0.19$0.00 0.22$0.01 0.14$0.00
C16:0 17.68$0.26 18.47$0.19 17.47$0.40
C16:1n-7 3.12$1.22 2.48$0.06 1.34$0.02
C16:1n-5 0.06$0.01 0.09$0.01 ND
iC17:0 0.14$0.01 0.19$0.01 0.05$0.01
C16:2n-4 0.16$0.01 0.10$0.00 0.05$0.00
C16:3n-6 0.13$0.00 0.16$0.00 0.06$0.01
C17:0 0.27$0.01 0.35$0.00 0.24$0.01
C17:1n-11 0.15$0.15 0.14$0.01 0.05$0.00
C17:1n-9 0.15$0.00 0.22$0.02 0.19$0.01
C16:4n-3 0.18$0.01 0.10$0.01 0.05$0.01
C16:4n-3 0.18$0.01 0.10$0.01 0.05$0.01
C18:0 5.09$0.05 4.34$0.07 3.00$0.03
C18:1n-9 26.00$0.46 24.65$0.10 21.97$0.09
C18:1n-7 2.03$0.00 1.97$0.02 1.41$0.03
C18:1n-5 0.11$0.01 0.12$0.00 0.07$0.00
C18:2n-6 32.78$0.56 36.85$0.37 46.84$0.24
C18:2n-4 0.10$0.01 0.09$0.01 0.07$0.00
C18:3n-6 0.13$0.01 0.08$0.01 0.07$0.00
C19:1n-11 0.11$0.01 0.10$0.00 0.09$0.01
C18:3n-3 3.33$0.09 2.96$0.08 3.68$0.03
C18:4n-3 0.32$0.00 0.21$0.01 0.08$0.01
C20:1n-9 0.61$0.01 0.56$0.02 0.68$0.03
C20:2n-9 0.06$0.01 ND 0.06$0.01
C20:3n-9 0.13$0.01 0.12$0.01 0.11$0.01
C21:0 0.10$0.01 ND 0.04$0.00
C20:4n-6 0.49$0.01 0.43$0.00 0.27$0.01
C20:4n-3 0.15$0.00 0.10$0.00 ND
C20:5n-3 1.72$0.05 1.46$0.03 0.42$0.05
C22:1n-11 0.23$0.01 0.14$0.00 0.11$0.00
C22:1n-9 0.07$0.01 ND ND
C22:4n-6 0.08$0.01 0.08$0.00 0.15$0.01
C22:5n-6 0.09$0.01 0.11$0.01 0.07$0.01
C22:4n-3 0.53$0.01 ND ND
C22:5n-3 ND 0.47$0.02 0.10$0.00
C22:6n-3 1.81$0.06 1.49$0.03 0.56$0.01
Note: Each value is an average of three samples, with its standard deviations. ND"not detected.
farm (ponds and cages). The smallest di!erence in water levels was observed among
"lets of B. orbignyanus of di!erent origins, and for B. cephalus and B. microlepis the
values were di!erent (P(0.05). These values are close to those for Clarias macro-
cephalus (71.6%) and Oreochromis niloticus (78.1%) found by Puwastien et al. (1999).
They observed about 1% ash for these species, values that are close to one of the three
species under study, and B. cephalus of di!erent origins did not show di!erences
(P'0.05). Di!erences were observed (P(0.05) for protein among Brycon of di!erent
origins. These values are superior to those observed by Puwastien et al. (1999) for
Clarias macrocephalus (17.0%), but close to those for Oreochromis niloticus (19.8%), as
well as the six species, Pogonias cromis, Brevoortua spp, Menticirrhus americanus,
Microdon ancylodon, Parona signata, and Micropogonias furnieri from Plata river
studied by Mendez et al. (1996), who found values between 19.2 and 20.7%. Total
lipids of the "lets showed di!erences (P(0.05) inside the species, except for
FATTY ACIDS AND CHOLESTEROL IN BRAZILIAN FISHES 569
TABLE 3
Physico-chemical composition (in 100 g) of B. cephalus, B. microlepis, and B. orbignyanus mucle tissues ("lets), cultured in "sh farm and wilds
B. cephalus B. microlepis B. orbignyanus
Species
Habitat Ponds Cages Ponds Wilds Ponds Cages Wilds
Water (g) 73.02c$1.22 71.77b$1.01 70.48a$1.84 74.06d$0.54 73.37c,e$0.97 73.98d,e$0.46 73.15c$0.64
Ash (g) 1.17a,c$0.13 1.15a,c$0.07 1.19a,c$0.13 1.05b$0.14 1.13a,b$0.08 1.32c$0.09 1.19a,c$0.11
Crude protein (g) 18.84a,b,f$0.17 20.03d$0.31 19.63a,d$0.54 19.83d,e,f$0.32 19.06d,c$0.51 19.74b,e$0.46 18.94c$0.71
Total lipids (g) 5.09d$0.50 6.83b$0.78 7.94a$1.59 2.49c$0.57 5.60d$0.66 3.74e$0.66 3.56e$0.53
Cholesterol (mg) 52.79b$3.67 51.45b$5.65 46.11a,d$4.84 45.17d$5.01 50.33a,b,e$4.38 49.68b,d,e$5.87 40.99c$2.07
Note: Values are means$standard deviation, of triplicate analyses, for three lots with "ve "sh of each species. Means within a line with no common alphabets are
signi"cantly di!erent (P(0.05).
5
7
0
M
O
R
E
I
R
A
E

.
B. orbignyanus, values close to the ones obtained by Puwastien et al. (1999) of 1.8%
(Oreochromis niloticus) and 8.9% (Clarias macrocephalus). A larger interval was
observed by Mendez et al. (1996) for other species, where the values varied from 0.56%
(Microdon ancylodon) to 13.6% (Brevoortia spp). Romero et al. (1996) observed in
rachurus murphyi, Sardinops sagax, Oncorhynchus kisutch, and hunnus alalunga,
values up to 87 mg/100 g of cholesterol, superior to those observed for Brycon in
this study, that did not surpass 53 mg/100 g. Among species of di!erent origins,
B. orbignyanus only showed di!erences (P(0.05) for cholesterol level.
Fatty acid compositions of "lets are presented in Table 4. Among saturated fatty
acids (SFA), the largest concentration was for palmitic acid (C16:0), varying from
15.66 to 21.90%. Those values are close to those found by Maia et al. (1998) in several
species of freshwater "shes. However, the stearic acid (C18:0) presented inferior values
in marine species, 4.50% (Romero et al., 1996), and 2.10% (Mendez et al., 1996), when
compared to the present study. Concerning the monounsaturated fatty acids, oleic
acid (18:1n-9) presented larger percentage (38.34}48.77%), close to the other re-
searchers, 33.2% for Parona signata (Mendez et al., 1996), 41.8% for Syprinus carpio
(Andrade et al., 1995), 30.86% for eporinus sp. (Maia et al., 1998). Among the
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the outstanding results were linoleic (C18:2n-6),
13.77%, and linolenic (C18:3n-3), 1.02%, for B. orbignyanus grown in ponds. The high
content of C18:2n-6 in feed (approximately 38%, Table 2), is probably responsible for
the high level of that acid observed in the muscle tissues of the species grown in "sh
farm. Mendez et al. (1996) did not detect the presence of C18:3n-3 in several species of
Plata river. Andrade et al. (1995) found values inferior to 2.50%, and in some species it
was not detected. However, Maia et al. (1998) found 19.19% in the species B. cephalus
(matrinxa ) from the Amazon river.
The values found for long-chain fatty acids, arachidonic (AA, C20:4n-6), eicosapen-
taenoic (EPA, C20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) were inferior to
1.60% for all species, with predominance for the last one. Data show larger values for
AA than EPA, for all species, close to the Ackman and Takeuchi (1986) results. Maia
et al. (1998) found in several species from the Amazon River, higher values of EPA and
DHA in comparison with certain ones in this work, being 6.47 and 7.19% (Cishla sp.),
9.57 and 19.28% (Pellona castelnaena) and 9.15 and 4.46% (iposarcus pardalis),
respectively. Andrade et al. (1995) also obtained higher values of EPA and DHA for
several freshwater species, being 11.67 and 10.34% (Plagioscion squanosissinus), 4.80
and 7.08% (Salminus maxillosus), 6.05 and 6.47% (Hoplias malabaricus), 4.32 and
7.61% (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans), respectively; and those values were inferior to
2% for Syprinus carpio, Pimelodus maculatus, Oreochromis niloticus and eporinus
elongatus. Maia et al. (1994) obtained 1.5% of EPA and 2.4% of DHA in Prochilodus
scrofa captured from the Mogi Guaiu River, Brazil.
Species grown in "sh farm presented larger contents of total PUFA (18.76%), and
smaller contents of total SFA (38.83%), when compared with wild species (12.02 and
41.86%, repectively). In cultured Pomoxis spp., GruK n et al. (1999) found smaller
concentration of both (SFA and PUFA), when compared with wild species. Maia et al.
(1998) observed higher levels of PUFA in some species from the Amazon River,
39.00% (Brycon cephalus), 45.48% (Pellona castelnaena), and smaller levels of SFA,
25.52% (Brycon cephalus) and 34.15% (Pellona castelnaena); however, in Rhaphiiodon
vulpinus 11.45% of PUFA and 44.28% of SFA were detected. Andrade et al. (1995)
detected in some freshwater species lower levels of PUFA, 7.46% (Colossoma mitrei),
7.16% (eporinus elongatus), 16.35% (Oreochromis niloticus), 10.69% (Pimelodus
maculatus), and higher levels of SFA, 44.07% (Colossoma mitrei), 33.77% (eporinus
elongatus), 38.57% (Oreochromis niloticus), and 39.84% (Pimelodus maculatus). Hen-
derson et al. (1996) observed in carcass of cultured Mylosoma aureum and Serrasalmus
FATTY ACIDS AND CHOLESTEROL IN BRAZILIAN FISHES 571
TABLE 4
Fatty acids pro"le (wt%) of B. cephalus, B. microlepis, and B. orbignyanus muscle tissues ("lets), cultured in "sh farm and wilds
Species B. cephalus B. microlepis B. orbignyanus
Habitat Ponds Cages Ponds Wilds Ponds Cages Wilds
C14:0 1.32b$0.07 1.23b,e$0.04 1.12a$0.08 1.57c$0.12 1.13a$0.06 1.20a,d,e$0.03 1.24b,d$0.07
iC15:0 0.05b$0.01 0.05b$0.00 0.07a$0.01 0.15c$0.01 ND 0.05b$0.01 ND
iC16:0 0.09b$0.01 0.11c$0.00 0.13a$0.01 0.33d$0.01 0.15e$0.01 0.11c$0.00 0.10b,c$0.01
C16:0 26.57b$0.47 22.81d,e,h,i$0.02 22.33a,f,b$0.91 21.90f$0.34 22.85a,e,g$0.37 23.40c,d,g, j$0.27 23.99c$0.25
C16:1n-9 0.40a$0.08 0.59b$0.01 0.37a$0.05 0.56b,d$0.02 0.57h,e$0.04 0.51c,d,e$0.01 0.47c$0.06
C16:1n-7 2.87a$0.08 2.31c$0.05 2.94a$0.35 2.29c$0.12 3.51d$0.16 4.23e$0.18 4.77b$0.12
iC17:0 0.08b$0.02 0.10c$0.01 0.13a$0.03 0.53d$0.02 0.17d$0.01 0.10b,c$0.01 0.08b$0.01
aiC17:0 0.05b$0.01 0.08c$0.01 0.11a$0.02 ND 0.09a$0.00 0.06b$0.01 ND
C17:0 0.20b$0.02 0.22b$0.01 0.26a$0.02 0.91c$0.04 0.31d$0.01 0.20b$0.01 0.20b$0.02
C17:1n-9 0.12b$0.02 0.14b,c$0.01 0.19a$0.03 0.46e$0.03 0.21a$0.00 0.13b,d$0.01 0.15c,d$0.01
C18:0 9.94b$0.37 10.50c$0.13 8.97a$0.36 15.66d$0.41 8.32e$0.19 9.90b$0.18 9.72b$0.10
C18:1n-9 41.03b$0.80 45.01a$0.41 45.23a$1.12 40.31d$0.53 39.74d$0.49 42.18e$0.42 48.77c$0.43
C18:1n-7 1.67b$0.03 1.57b$0.06 2.06a$0.22 3.00d$0.03 2.50e$0.12 1.94a$0.04 2.24c$0.08
C18:1n-5 ND 0.10a$0.01 ND 0.26b$0.01 ND 0.03c$0.00 ND
C18:2n-6 11.15a$0.17 10.17c$0.08 11.03a$0.33 5.10d$0.36 13.77c$0.29 9.79f$0.17 2.29b$0.10
C18:3n-6 0.10a$0.01 0.15c$0.00 0.11a$0.01 0.10a$0.01 0.20b$0.02 0.23c$0.01 ND
C19:1n-11 0.07a$0.01 ND ND 0.15b$0.01 0.08c$0.01 0.07a$0.01 ND
C18:3n-3 0.69a$0.05 0.54c$0.04 0.67a$0.09 0.97b,d$0.09 1.02d$0.03 0.51c$0.04 0.89b$0.03
C18:4n-3 0.07b$0.01 0.10d$0.02 0.12a$0.01 0.37e$0.02 0.13a$0.01 0.13a$0.00 0.18c$0.01
C20:1n-9 0.81a,b$0.07 0.76a$0.04 0.80a,b$0.06 0.75a$0.03 0.86b$0.06 0.48c$0.04 0.80a,b$0.06
C20:2n-9 0.18a,c$0.02 0.17c$0.01 0.19a$0.02 0.13d$0.01 0.16c$0.02 0.17c$0.01 0.22b$0.01
C20:3n-9 0.62b$0.02 0.56a$0.02 0.56a$0.03 0.43c$0.03 0.71d$0.01 0.53a$0.04 0.43c$0.03
C21:0 0.53a,f$0.02 0.57e,f$0.04 0.51a,e$0.02 0.50a$0.04 0.74c$0.04 0.63d$0.07 0.27b$0.02
C20:4n-6 0.56a$0.08 0.77b,e$0.06 0.68a,e$0.07 1.01c$0.11 1.06c,d$0.05 1.18d$0.12 0.83b$0.08
C20:3n-3 0.06b$0.01 ND 0.07a$0.08 0.13c$0.01 ND ND 0.09a$0.01
C20:4n-3 0.05a$0.01 0.05a$0.01 ND 0.09c$0.01 ND ND 0.10b$0.01
C20:5n-3 0.06b$0.01 0.10a,d,f$0.01 0.14a,e$0.03 0.17d,e$0.02 0.21d$0.01 0.13e,f$0.02 0.48c$0.07
C22:4n-6 0.05b$0.00 0.07a,b$0.01 0.07a$0.01 ND 0.12c$0.01 0.11c$0.02 0.13c$0.03
C22:5n-6 0.18a$0.03 0.29c,f$0.03 0.21a,b,g$0.02 0.27d,f$0.02 0.32c$0.03 0.45e$0.06 0.23d,g$0.02
C22:5n-3 0.06a$0.01 0.10c$0.01 0.08a,c$0.01 0.30b$0.02 0.15d$0.03 0.17d$0.01 0.28b$0.03
C22:6n-3 0.37b$0.07 0.78a$0.07 0.85a$0.08 1.60d$0.15 0.92a,c$0.08 1.38e$0.17 1.05c$0.12
PUFA 41.20$0.21 13.84$0.14 14.78$0.37 12.02$0.42 18.76$0.31 14.78$0.28 7.19$0.20
SFA 38.83$0.60 35.67$0.25 33.63$0.99 41.86$0.55 33.76$0.42 35.65$0.34 35.60$0.28
n-6 12.03$0.01 11.43$0.11 12.10$0.34 6.48$0.38 15.46$0.30 11.76$0.21 3.48$0.13
n-3 1.37$0.01 1.68$0.01 1.93$0.02 3.61$0.03 2.42$0.01 2.32$0.03 3.06$0.02
PUFA/SFA 0.37$0.01 0.39$0.00 0.44$0.02 0.29$0.01 0.56$0.01 0.41$0.01 0.20$0.01
n-6/n-3 8.79$0.15 6.79$0.07 6.26$0.19 1.79$0.11 6.38$0.12 5.07$0.11 1.14$0.04
Note: Values are mean$standard deviation, of triplicate analyses, for three lots with "ve "sh of each species. Means within a line with no common alphabets are signi"cantly
di!erent (P(0.05). PUFA"total of polyunsaturated fatty acids; SFA"total of saturated fatty acids; n-6"total of n-6 fatty acids: n-3"total of n-3 fatty acids; PUFA/SFA"ratio
of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids; n-6/n-3"ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids; ND"not detected.
5
7
2
M
O
R
E
I
R
A
E

.
nattereri, having their diets with PUFA supplied, SFA (37.8 and 33.2%), and PUFA
(17.0 and 22.2%), respectively.
The U.K. Department of Health (1994) recommends an ideal relationship of n-6/n-3
of 4.0, at maximum. Values of n-6/n-3 higher than the maximum value are harmful to
health and may promote cardiovascular diseases. In this work, the best ratio was
found in wild species, 1.79 (B. microlepis), and 1.14 (B. orbignyanus). For "sh species
grown in farm, this ratio varied from 5.07 (B. orbignyanus) to 8.79 (B. cephalus).
Andrade et al. (1995) obtained a smaller ratio in wild freshwater "shes than the present
work, 0.27 (Pinirampus pinirampu), 0.24 (Plagioscion squamosissimus), and 0.4
(Salminus maxillosus). Andrade et al. (1996) found for marine species, 0.05 (Anchovia
clupeoides), and 0.08 (Katswonus pelamis and Merluccius hubbsi).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to CNPq and CAPES for their "nancial support, and Pesqueiro do Pacu "sh farm,
for supplying samples.
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574 MOREIRA E A.