Comparative analysis of fatty acid composition and nutritional lipid indices in captured and cultured Channa striata using Folch and microwave assisted extraction methods

Channa striata is an economically important freshwater fish found in South Asia and is widely consumed because of its high nutritional value. The present study comparatively evaluated the proximate composition and fatty acid composition of male and female C. striata from captured and cultured ecosystems using the Folch and microwave-assisted extraction techniques followed by GC-MS analysis. The nutritional composition revealed that captured females contained higher percentages of crude proteins compared to captured males. However, cultured C. striata contained higher percentages of lipid compared to captured C. striata . The fatty acid composition of C. striata revealed that it contained higher percentages of saturated fatty acids, such as palmitic acid and stearic acid; monounsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid; and polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid. Nutritional lipid indices calculation revealed good health profiles, with PUFA/SFA ratio ranges of 0.45 to 1.57 and ω3/ω6 ratio ranges of 0.35 to 1.18. The lowest atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices were found among captured females (0.17 for AI and 0.14 for TI), whereas cultured fish had acceptable indices (0.49 to 0.63 for AI and 0.73 to 0.89 for TI). These findings indicate that while captured fish contained elevated levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, C. striata cultivated under controlled conditions demonstrated favourable nutritional lipid profiles. This study showed the potential of cultured murrel as a sustainable and nutritionally important aquaculture resource and its application of microwave-assisted extraction as an efficient approach for fatty acid profiling.