Effects of cooking by different methods on the polyunsaturated fatty acids in six fish species

The effect of cooking on the fatty acid content and the stability of n-3 fatty acids in fish flesh were studied. The cooking methods used were baking, frying with palm oil, steaming, boiling and microwave oven. Six fish species (kanad, Shoar, Hamor, Bory, Morgan, and Bolty) were studied. The content ofn-3 PUF A in fish flesh were more than 23% of totallipids except Bolty which contained only 16% of totallipids. The n-3 PUFA content in flesh decreased in most species due to frying. The n-3/n-6 ratio was approximately one for morgan, shoar and bolty while for other was higher. Based on these data, all cooking methods can be used without significant loss of n-3/n-6PUFA ratio especially if the cooking oil does not interfere with the biological effects on n-3 fatty acids.Dr. Abdulrahman Saleh Al-Khalifa, Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Food and Agriculture Science, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Email: akhalifa@ksu.edu.s