Fatty Acid Composition and Antioxidant Levels in Muscle Tissue of Different Mediterranean Marine Species of Fish and Shellfish

The levels of hydrophilic, lipophilic, and enzymatic antioxidants, as well as the fatty acids composition, of triglyceride and phospholipid fractions were determined in the muscle tissue of 21 species of teleosts, 3 species of cephalopods, and 6 species of crustaceans, just caught from the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). The enzymatic activities and the levels of low-molecular-weight antioxidants, and the percentages of fatty acids, showed marked interspecies differences. Our results showed that total polyunsaturated fatty acids (21.7−61.5%) were the highest, followed by saturated (16.9−41.3%) and monounsaturated (9.1−42.8%) fatty acids. The total n−3 fatty acids content (16.6−57.1%) was found to be higher than the total n−6 fatty acids content (4.1−10.6%). All of the species studied had an n−3/n−6 ratio of more than 1, confirming the great importance of fish and shellfish as a significant dietary source of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and their beneficial role in the Mediterranean type of diet. Keywords: Tyrrhenian Sea; marine fish and shellfish; water-soluble, lipid-soluble, and enzymatic antioxidants; n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; Mediterranean diet; HPLC−DAD; GC−MS