Retinol, alpha-tocopherol and fatty acid content in Bulgarian black Sea fish species

The aim of the present study was to measure and evaluate the total lipids, fatty acid profile, retinol content and alpha-tocopherol content in the edible tissue of four commercially important fish species from the Bulgarian Black sea: Sprat (Sprattus sprattus), Round Goby (Neogobius rattan), Black Sea Horse Mackerel (Trahurus medditeraneus ponticus) and Shad (Alosa pontica). Fat soluble vitamins were analyzed simultaneously using an HPLC system. The highest content of retinol was established in the Sprat (142.3 ± 4.4 μg/100g) and the highest content of alphatocopherol was found in the Black Sea Horse Mackerel (1112.7 ± 39.2 μg/100g). The fatty acid (FA) composition was analyzed by GC/MS. The content of omega 3 (n3) FAs was significantly higher (p , 0.001) than the content of omega 6 (n6) FAs in each of the analyzed fish samples. The n6/n3 FA ratio was within the recommended range (0.20–1.50) for Sprat, Round Goby and Shad. Relatively high levels of retinol and alpha-tocopherol, FA composition, n3/n6 FA and PUFA/SFA ratios indicate that these fish species have good nutritional quality.