Year-round high arachidonic acid levels in herbivorous rabbit fish Siganus fuscescens tissues

To identify a stable resource of 20:4 n-6 (arachidonic acid, AA) in marine fish tissues, the lipid profiles of Siganus fuscescens organs (muscle, liver, and other viscera) and stomach contents were examined throughout the year. Crude total lipid (TL) contents in respective organs showed seasonal variations and were high in winter and low in summer. The main FA in TL were 16:0, 18:0, 16:1n-7, 18:1n-9, AA, and 22:6n-3 (DHA). These FA were those generally observed in marine fish lipids, except for comparatively high levels of AA. In TL of muscle and liver, AA showed relatively high values during the period from late May to August (muscle, 4.6-13.1%; liver, 4.5-9.1%), compared with other seasons (muscle, 4.3-9.5%; liver, 3.6-8.4%). The AA levels in TL of other viscera and stomach contents fluctuated (other viscera, 2.0-10.7%; stomach contents, 7.6-26.7%). Regardless of the fishing season, each organ contained a higher level of AA in polar lipids (PL) than in neutral lipids. It was concluded that the fish contain comparatively high levels of AA in their TL throughout the year, and they accumulate AA characteristically in their tissue PL, probably from dietary food sources. Moreover, it was suggested that S. fuscescens has potential utility as a natural marine source of nutritional lipids, because the fish contain comparatively high levels of DHA and AA.