Proximate Composition and Fatty Acids Profiles in Most Common Available Fish Species in Saudi Market

Three highly consumed fish in Saudi market were evaluated for their proximate composition in the muscle and in the head and their fatty acids. The fish species were included Spanish mackerel, (Scomberomorus maculates), Grouper (Epinephelus coioides) and Yellow-spotted trevally (Carangoides fulvoguttatus) which respectively known as Kanad, Hammour and Hammam in Saudi market. The moisture, protein, total lipids and ash of the muscle tissue and head of the three fish species were found to be between 71.20 to 78.23, 16.19 to 20.20, 0.24 to 4.10 and 1.10 to 8.00%, respectively. The fatty acids composition in the muscle of fish species was evaluated. 16:0 and 18:0 were the main saturated fatty acids (SFA), 18:1 ‰-9, 16:1 ‰ -7 the main monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), while 22:6 ‰-3 (DHA), 20:5 ‰-3 (EPA) were the main polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The ‰3/ ‰6 ratio was between 2.05 to 7.39 and the EPA/DHA ratio was approximately 0.30.