Evaluation of Nutritional and Sensory Quality of a Coated Fish Product Developed from Small Indigenous Fish Species Aplocheilus panchax

The present study was conducted with an aim to develop a value-added product from blue panchax (Aplocheilus panchax) as well as to carry out its nutritional value and sensory evaluation. Value-added, ‘ready-to-heat’ fish products have become more popular globally in recent years due to their versatile tastes and ease of consumption. The study was carried out from September 2023 to August 2024 at the Fishing and Post Harvest Technology Laboratory of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Small indigenous fish species (SIS) have been found immensely popular among the mass people of our country, as numerous closed and open water bodies support the bountiful production of these exceptionally tasteful fishes. A. panchax, locally known as kanpona or panch chokha, has been chosen for the present study owing to their availability in local water bodies, especially during monsoon. Major chemical constituents like moisture, protein, lipid, ash, and carbohydrate were examined both in raw fish and prepared product. In addition, some important minerals and heavy metals were also assessed in raw fish to ascertain their suitability for product development. For raw fish and prepared coated product, the moisture content was found to be 67.45% and 22.67%, crude protein 16.90% and 9.70%, fat 10.85% and 22.68%, carbohydrates 2.15% and 32.5%, and total ash 3.27% and 5.17%, respectively. Among major minerals, iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, and magnesium contents were found at levels of 4.47, 721, 1.18, 471, and 27.24 mg/100g, respectively. In raw fish, lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) were found to be undetectable, whereas cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr) levels were within permissible limits for human consumption at 0.23 and 4.35 mg kg-1, respectively. This study offers critical insights about value addition as an effective approach for utilizing the nutritional values of small native fish species like Aplocheilus panchax.