Study on the Structural Characteristics and Composition of Two Marine Fish Species (Carangoides malabaricus and Scomberoides commersonnianus) of Bangladesh

Abstract

Knowledge of biochemical constituents in fish is essential for effective implementation of preservation and processing practices. Thus, the study aimed to examine the muscle characteristics and proximate composition of two marine fish species Scomberoides commersonnianus and Carangoides malabaricus from the Bay of Bengal. Fresh specimens of these two species were collected from day fishing boat of Teknaf. Samples were immediately frozen at -20 °C and transported the CVASU laboratory for subsequent experiment. Muscle structural characteristics mainly myotome identification, processing yield, proximate compositions on different type of muscles and cooking methods, and gel forming ability of muscle were studied. The results indicated that the processing yield of S. commersonnianus was 53.35% with white muscle comprising 92.84% and dark muscle 7.16%, while muscle yield of C. malabaricus fish was 39.30% in which white muscle accounting for 90.23% and dark muscle for 9.77 %. White muscle in both fish species had higher moisture and protein content, while dark muscle had higher lipid levels, particularly in the middle and tail regions. The head had the highest moisture and lowest protein content. There were changes in color, texture, and odor in all samples after boiling and frying. After boiling and frying, protein and ash content remained unchanged, but moisture content slightly decreased and fat content increased, with boiling reducing fat content. The gel forming ability and breaking force were investigated under different temperature (40, 50, and 60 °C) in a water bath for 120 mins. The highest breaking force was found at 50 °C for both washed (322±2.64 g and 600±4.35 g) and unwashed (176±4.58 g and 450±2.00 g) fish mince in C. malabaricus and S. commersonnianus respectively. These results suggest that both fishes were suitable for producing value-added products.