Amegovu et al.,
Abstract
Fishes are irreplaceable animal food in developing countries as a source of high quality protein and micronutrients. This study was carried out to determine the proximate composition, mineral content and fatty acids of sun-dried fermented Mud Fish (Clarias anguiliaris) and Tiger Fish (Hydrocynus vittatus) sold in local markets of South Sudan. International Organization for Standardization procedures were used to determine proximate composition, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for mineral content and Gas Chromatography-mass spectrometry for fatty acids. C. anguiliaris had higher concentrations of crude protein (75.2%), crude fat (24.9%) and moisture content (14.3%) than H. vittatus with 65.98%, 7.81%, 8.12% respectively. H. vittatus had more ash content (4.1%) and carbohydrate (3.59%) than C. anguiliaris at 2.7% and 2.12% respectively. Palmitic fatty acid was the dominant saturated fatty acid in H. vittatus (21.12%) and C. anguillaris (21.32%). Eicosatrienoic acid was 11.21% in H. vittatus and 10.64% in C. anguillaris and was the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid. Calcium was the highest mineral followed by magnesium and zinc. Lead and mercury were significantly (P<0.0001) higher in C. anguiliaris (0.104±0.001 g100g-1) than H. vittatus (0.06±0.000 g100g-1). C. anguiliaris and H. vittatus are highly nutritious and rich sources of protein, moisture, lipid, ash and minerals.