Comparison of the Formaldehyde Content in Indian Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) Fish Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography and UV-Vis Spectrophotometry

ABSTRACT

Because Goa is a favorite destination for international and national tourism, there is a great demand for seafood there. Formalin (30–40% of formaldehyde, FA) can be added as a preservative to many fishery products to extend shelf life. To access the risk of exposure to FA content, Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) was chosen and analyzed with Nash reagent using two different techniques: high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. The study revealed FA at various levels of concentration (mg/kg). Higher exposure to FA content was found in fish and ice water from wholesale market samples using both methods. The FA content was 19.26 ± 0.84 mg/kg in fresh fish, 39.37 ± 0.93 mg/kg in wholesale market fish, and 32.95 ± 1.05 mg/kg in retail market fish using spectrophotometry, whereas it was 4.00 ± 0.15 mg/kg, 31.05 ± 0.18 mg/kg, and 31.64 ± 0.26 mg/kg in fresh fish, wholesale market, and retail market fish, respectively, using HPLC analysis.

KEYWORDS:

• Formaldehyde
• Goa
• HPLC
• mackerel
• Nash reagent
• spectrophotometry

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Vice Chancellor, Goa University, for the necessary support and encouragement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.