Research Article: Proximate composition and amino acid profile of the whole body of juvenile Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)

The main objective of the current study was to analyze the proximate composition and the amino acid profile of the Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). Forty-eight fish (with an initial weight of ۹۶.۶۰   ۷.۴۵ g) were randomly sampled from a local sturgeon farm in Mazandaran, Iran. The proximate analysis of the fish body showed ۲۴.۳۸ ± ۱.۶۲ g/۱۰۰g ww of dry matter, ۶۱.۵۲ ± ۱.۶۵ g/۱۰۰g dw of crude protein, ۱۰.۵۳ ± ۰.۱۸ g/۱۰۰g dw of lipid, ۱۶.۴۸ ± ۱.۳ g/۱۰۰g dw of ash, ۰.۹۴ ± ۰.۰۳ % of NH۳, and ۲.۴۵ ± ۰.۱۸ % of phosphorus. The essential and non-essential amino acid composition provided the following values: Methionine: ۱.۵۷ ± ۰.۰۶ %, Threonine: ۲.۳۴ ± ۰.۰۸ %, Tryptophan: ۰.۵۶ ± ۰.۰۲ %, Arginine: ۳.۳۷ ± ۰.۱۲ %, Histidine: ۱.۳۲ ± ۰.۰۲ %, Isoleucine: ۲.۳۵ ± ۰.۰۵ %, Leucine: ۴.۲۷ ± ۰.۳۲ %, Lysine: ۴.۳۴ ± ۰.۲۷ %, Valine: ۲.۷۱ ± ۰.۰۹ %, Phenylalanine: ۲.۲۲ ± ۰.۰۷ %, Glycine: ۵.۱۲ ± ۰.۱۷ %, Serine: ۲.۴۳ ± ۰.۰۵ %, Proline: ۳.۱۱ ± ۰.۰۶ %, Alanine: ۳.۸۵ ± ۰.۰۹ %, Cysteine: ۰.۵۳ ± ۰.۱۵ %, Asparagine: ۵.۰۸ ± ۰.۲ %, and Glutamine: ۷.۶۳ ± ۰.۱۶ % dry weight. Compared to a number of international standards for evaluating sturgeon body composition and amino acid profile, the present study showed identical results in sturgeon farms to those released by FAO in ۲۰۱۱. Overall, the Persian sturgeon is not only an invaluable source of protein (i.e., essential and non-essential amino acids), but it can also assist farmers and researchers in formulating fish diets based on their real nutrition needs.

Keywords:

Proximate composition , Essential amino acid , Non-essential amino acid , Persian sturgeon , Nutritional value