The proximate composition was analyzed in the different organs of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) viz. fins, intestine, swim bladder, gonad, kidney, belly flap, liver, heart, gills, brain, head muscle, eye, center muscle, skin, tail muscle and bone. Results showed that common carp contain substantial amount of protein, fat and minerals. Among the different parts, liver had high protein content (24.69±0.01%) and the maximum fat content of 15.43±0.03% was observed in the eye portion. The fatty acid profile showed that the muscle portion had high amount of MUFA (37%) compared to PUFA (30%). Skin had high PUFA content (32%). The overall results of the study showed that the different parts of common carp contain significant amount of essential nutrients unsaturated fatty acids with several health beneficial effect which may prevent the occurrence of many diseases including cardiovascular disease in human.
Fresh Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was procured from Thoothukudi fish market, Tamil Nadu, India and transported to the laboratory in iced condition for analysis. The proximate composition (moisture, fat, protein and ash) of all the body parts (head muscle, centre muscle, tail muscle, bone, skin, belly flap, eyes, brain, scales, liver, intestine, gills, fins, swim bladder, kidney) was estimated on wet weight basis. The moisture content was determined by drying the sample in hot air oven at 105oC (AOAC, 2000). Total nitrogen content was determined by Kjeldahl method in a Kelplus distillation apparatus (Kelplus Elite EXVA, Pelican equipments, Chennai, India) (AOAC, 2000). The crude fat was determined by Soxhlet method using petroleum ether (60- 80° C) as solvent in a SOCS PLUS-SCS 08R system. Ash content was determined in a Muffle furnace at 500-550°C for 16 h. Fatty acid composition was determined by Gas chromatography (Folchet al., 1957), (Clarus 580, Perkin Elmer, USA) with a flame ionization detector and capillary column.
Among the different body parts, liver had high protein content of 24.69%, followed by centre muscle portion (22.43%) and the lowest was recorded in the swim bladder (3.33%). High fat content observed in eyes (15.43%) followed by head muscle (11.51%). The ash content of different body parts of common carp varied from 0.56% in skin to 15.00% in bone. Fatty acid analysis showed that the fatty acid contents in common carp followed a relative pattern with MUFA > SFA >PUFA. The fatty acid profile showed that, skin portion had high SFA compared to the muscle and this could be due to the fat deposition under the skin. In the present study, the muscle of common carp contained higher amount of MUFA (37.03%) compared to the skin portion (23.12%). Both muscle and skin portions had high amount PUFA such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [20:5n-3] and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [22:6n-3] . Muscle portion of common carp had high amount of EPA (13.00%), whereas skin had DHA of 9.04%.