Comparative Analysis of Fatty Acid Profiles in Brains and Eyes of Five Economic Fish Species in Winter and Summer

Fish brains and eyes are commonly consumed in China, however, their nutritional importance has not been evaluated. We investigated the fatty acid (FA) profiles in brains and eyes of five economically important fish species with different food habits (carnivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous). The fatty acid profiles were also compared between winter and summer. The FA compositions of brains and eyes of carnivorous and marine fishes were similar, and differed from those of omnivorous and herbivorous freshwater fishes. In winter, there were higher proportions of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in brains and eyes of carnivorous and marine fishes than in those of omnivorous and herbivorous freshwater fishes; the magnitude of this difference was smaller in summer. The FA compositions of brains and eyes of these five fishes were comparable to those reported for their fillets in previous studies. Therefore, fish brains and eyes are not more nutritious than fillets of the same species.

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