Comparative seasonal sterol profiles in edible parts of Mediterranean fish and shellfish species

Abstract

The effect of different seasons on sterol content of seafoods was investigated. There were four sterols (cholesterol, sitosterol, desmosterol and stigmasterol) identified, with cholesterol being the predominant sterol. Stigmasterol was a minor component in fish muscle, whilst sitosterol was one of the main phytosterols found in fish muscle. Cholesterol content of fish consisted of 38–100% of total sterols in fish and 54–80% of total sterols in shellfish. The highest cholesterol content of fish muscle was found in summer and the lowest in autumn, whereas season did not have any effect on cholesterol level of green tiger prawn and speckled shrimp. Total sterol content of fish muscle ranged from 49 to 110 mg/100 g, although the range of total sterols in shrimp muscle was between 62 and 91 mg/100 g. The result of the study showed that total sterols in fish were generally found at lower levels in winter compared with other seasons.

Keywords::

• fish
• shellfish
• cholesterol
• sitosterol
• desmosterol
• stigmasterol

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the United Nations Development Programme-MDGF, Turkey, for providing research materials needed for the project.

Declaration of interest : The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.