Nutritional variation in muscle type, body segments, and cooking effects of four commercially important marine fish ( <i>Carangoides malabaricus</i> , <i>Scomberoides commersonnianus</i> , <i>Dussumieria acuta</i> , and <i>Sardinella fimbriata</i> )

The knowledge regarding the proximate composition of fish is essential for the effective implementation of preservation and processing practices. This study examined the proximate composition of four commercially important marine fish species of the Bay of Bengal: <i>Carangoides malabaricu</i>s (Malabar trevally), <i>Scomberoides commersonnianus</i> (Talang queenfish), <i>Dussumieria acuta</i> (Rainbow sardine), and <i>Sardinella fimbriata</i> (Fringescale sardine)<i>.</i> Fresh fishes were collected from the fishing boats of the Teknaf region, and immediately transported to a laboratory under iced (4 °C) condition. Proximate compositions of different body sections, types of muscle, and raw and cooked samples were analyzed. The average moisture, protein, lipid, and ash content were 77.08 ± 1.34%, 20.19 ± 1.76%, 1.39 ± 0.32%, and 1.34 ± 0.08% in Malabar trevally; 77.14 ± 1.15%, 20.27 ± 1.75%, 1.32 ± 0.69%, and 1.27 ± 0.08% in Talang queenfish; 76.16 ± 1.56%, 20.46 ± 1.24%, 1.67 ± 0.08%, and 1.71 ± 0.03% in Rainbow sardine; and 76.10 ± 1.76%, 20.65 ± 1.54%, 1.63 ± 0.05%, and 1.62 ± 0.04% in Fringescale sardine. White muscle contained the highest percentage of moisture and protein. Lipid content was highest in the dark muscle and the highest ash content was not uniform in any type of muscle. Moisture content was highest in the head region, the highest protein, lipid, and ash content varied among body parts. Moisture content was highest in the raw samples, and protein, lipid, and ash content was highest in the fried samples. The proximate composition significantly varied among different muscle, body parts, and raw and cooked samples (<i>p</i> < 0.05). These findings can facilitate processing industries and contribute to increasing the knowledge base of fisheries research.