Abstract:Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) has been studied for years but was only recently acknowledged as a new marine aquaculture species. To better understand the nutritive composition of its muscles, we measured and analyzed the general nutrients, amino acids, fatty acids, major and trace elements as well as vitamins, using biochemical methods. The results showed that the percentages of the moisture, crude proteins, crude fat, crude ash and total carbohydrate in the fish muscles were 69.92%, 16.48%, 10.64%, 1.69% and 1.27% respectively. In dry samples, the total amino acids (TAA) accounted for 43.81%, the ratio of total essential amino acids to total amino acids (WEAA/WTAA) was 40.68%, and the ratio of total essential amino acids to total nonessential amino acids (WEAA/WNEAA) was 81.74%. The constitutional rate of the essential amino acids met the standards of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations /World Health Organization (FAO/WHO). The ratio of branched-chain amino acid amount to aromatic amino acid amount (BCAA/AAA) was 2.51, which was close to the normal value in humans. The level of flavor amino acids (FAA) was 16.94% and accounted for 38.67% of the total amino acids, which was higher than that in the main mariculture species in the north of China. According to the amino acid score (AAS) and chemical score (CS), the first limiting amino acid in the muscles was Cystine plus Methionine with an essential amino acid index (EAAI) of 76.35, implying that A. fimbria had relatively balanced amino acid composition. The ratio of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids was 2.81, indicating a high fat quality of the muscles. Our results also suggested that the muscles of A. fimbria were rich in major and trace elements such as P and Zn, and vitamins such as VA, VB6 and VB3. In conclusion, A. fimbria may be enriched with flavor amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, major and trace elements and vitamins, therefore it could be a valuable aquaculture species due to the nutritional advantage.
