DNA barcoding and nutritional analysis as a tool for promoting the market of inland fish species

• Published in: Italian Journal of Food Safety
• Main Authors: Iolanda Venuti, Marina Ceruso, Giuseppe Palma, Giorgio Smaldone, Tiziana Pepe
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Italian
• Published: PAGEPress Publications 2021
• Subjects: Freshwater fish; mtDNA; COI; fish frauds; nutritional composition; Food processing and manufacture; TP368-456; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2021.9565; https://doaj.org/article/6cb175b791fd432c8f5310fe84eab7bb

The increasing world market demand for seafood requires an expansion of product categories available to consumers. Inland fish are usually considered having unmarked taste and are less appreciated by consumers; thus, they have low commercial value. Therefore, the marketing of the lake’s fresh and processed fish is limited to the local market and consumers are currently uninformed and mistrustful about these species. In this study, six different fish species were caught in the Fondi lake (Lazio, central Italy): Anguilla anguilla, Tinca tinca, Carassius gibelio, Cyprinus carpio, Micropterus salmoides, Chelon ramada. All the samples were subjected to nutritional and DNA barcoding analysis. Moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrates, ash, and sodium content were measured. As regards the fatty acids profile, the most abundant were MUFAs with the highest value in Anguilla anguilla (45.97%). Oleic acid (C18: 1 n9 cis) was particularly high in Cyprinus carpio (55.46%). The fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) revealed a higher DHA content (C22: 6 n3) in Anguilla anguilla than the other species (>12 %) while Chelon ramada presented both higher EPA content (C 20: 5 n3) and total fraction of omega 3 PUFAs. Concerning molecular analysis, a 655 bp fragment of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was successfully used for the identification at the species level using both BOLD and BLAST public databases. The present study gives the basis for improving the knowledge and promoting inland fish’ market and traceability along the supply chain.