Incorporation of conjugated fatty acids into Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

BACKGROUND The aim of this work was to improve the nutritional quality of Nile tilapia meat through enriched diets with conjugated isomers of linolenic acid from tung oil. The transfer process of conjugated fatty acids (CFAs) into fish muscle tissue was evaluated by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC‐FID) and easy ambient sonic‐spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI‐MS). RESULTS The results showed that conjugated fatty acids were transferred from enriched diet for muscle tissue of Nile tilapia. Conjugated linoleic acids biosynthesis from conjugated linolenic acids was also observed after 10 days. Other important fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and arachidonic (AA) acids were also identified over time; however, DHA showed the highest concentration when compared with EPA and AA compounds. CONCLUSION Therefore, the nutritional quality of Nile tilapia was improved through feeding with enriched diets. The ingestion of these fish may contribute to reaching adequate levels of daily CFA consumption. Furthermore, other important substances which play an important role in human metabolism, such as EPA, DHA and AA, can also be ingested together with CFA. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry