Fatty acid composition of caviar and liver from cultured great sturgeon (Huso huso).
In this study fatty acid composition of liver and caviar from 10 years old great sturgeon (Beluga, Huso huso) (n=5, average weight 50-60 kg) cultured in concrete circular tanks (8-m diameter, 1.5-m depth) at a density of 30 kg/m3 for caviar production was determined. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) ranged from 19.08 to 21.87% of total fatty acid (TFA) being slightly higher in flesh. The fatty acid C16:0 was the main SFA in all samples. The highest level of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) was with caviar (56.26% of TFA) followed by flesh (50.92% of TFA) and liver (45.05% of TFA). Liver contained the highest amount of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (33.37% of TFA), n-3 fatty acids (15.80% of TFA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6 n-3) (10.57% of TFA) (P<0.05). Caviar had the lowest content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5 n-3) and n-3 fatty acids (P<0.05) whereas no difference in the content of N-6 fatty acids between liver, caviar and flesh was found (P>0.05).