[Effect of mechanical deboning process on the fat stability of 3 tropical fish species stored at -10 degrees C]

Maximum advantage of certain fish species captured with shrimp, at present not fully utilized, constitutes a necessity in Venezuela. The purpose of this research work was to evaluate the stability of three of those fish species: bagre, cunaro and caballa, based on the changes that might occur in their fat content. This was done by comparing both the edible part of the whole fish, as well as the deboned flesh of each of them. Evaluation of the changes was performed by means of the acid and peroxide indices, with previous fat extraction, and the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) index. On the other hand, the fatty acids profile of the three species studied was determined by gas chromatography. According to our findings, the greater alteration was detected in the deboned sample, obtaining the highest TBA and acidity index values of all species, on the third month of storage; then a reduction of these values was observed. On the other hand, the peroxide index presented heterogeneous values in the three species analyzed through their storage period. The predominant fatty acids were: palmitic (16:0) among the saturated, and oleic (18:1) among the unsaturated. A greater proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was found in the three species. An increment of these in the deboned sample with respect to the whole fish, was also observed.