Change in lipids quality and fatty acids profile of two small pelagic fish: Sardinella aurita and Sardina pilchardus during canning process in olive oil and tomato sauce respectively

Abstract

The effects of cooking and sterilisation steps on muscle lipid deterioration of Sardinella aurita and Sardina pilchardus canned in olive oil and tomato sauce respectively were investigated. Lipid contents of Sardinella aurita flesh were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by the canning process. However, lipid levels of Sardina pilchardus remained constant during processing. The peroxide value and thiobarbituric index increased slightly after the cooking step but changed significantly (p < 0.05) following canning. Both canned sardine and sardinella absorbed coating-oil during sterilisation inducing a higher oleic (C18:1 n-9) and linoleic (C18:2 n-6) acids content. Independently of coating-oil category, the eicosapentaenoic (C20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic (C22:6 n-3) acids concentrations ranged from 3.00 to 6.24% and from 5.12% to 40.26% respectively. Although, lipids of Sardinella aurita and Sardina pilchardus were slightly affected by the canning process, and they remain a good source of ~w3 and ~w6 fatty acids