Composition and dietary effects of the fish oil from "mandi" (Pinelodus clarias)

A study was carried out to determine the chemical composition and dietary effects of the oil from "mandi" (Pimelodus clarias). Findings revealed that it had a low proportion of essential C18:2 fatty acids and a high percentage of oleic acid (20.93%), as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids with more than 18 carbon atoms. Of the long-chain fatty acids, C22:6 was present in the highest percentage (1.94%). When rats were fed a diet the lipid source of which was the oil of mandi, they showed a reduced growth rate as compared to animals receiving the control diet (corn oil). The fatty acid composition of the liver and heart of rats from the experimental group was modified. The greatest variation occurred in the percentage of C22:6 in the heart muscle, wherein a five-fold increase was observed. Reduction of growth and alteration in the polyunsaturated fatty acids levels may be due to a deficiency in C18:2-w6, or to a possible imbalance between C18:2-w6 and C18:3-w3.