Nutritional composition of cultured sturgeon (Acipenser spp.)

Proximate composition and cholesterol content, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, selected mineral (Na, K, Mg, Ca, P, Fe, Zn) and vitamin (niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, vitamin B12) content, total and soluble collagen content, and purine bases (adenine, guanine, xanthine, hypoxanthine) were determined in cultured sturgeon. White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), Italian sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) and Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri) were individually analyzed. The results were reported as a whole, since no commercial distinction is made between the three species. Mean content (per 100 g wet weight) of protein, lipid, ash, and cholesterol was 19.23 g, 7.63 g, 1.09 g, and 66 mg, respectively. Saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acid contents were 1.76, 3.12, and 1.46 g/100 g wet weight, respectively; n - 3 PUFAs reached 1.18 g/100 g, whereas n - 6 PUFAs were 0.28 g/100 g. The n - 3/n - 6 ratio was 4.23. Compared to human requirements, sturgeon protein was especially rich in histidine and isoleucine (0.82 and 0.92 g/100 g wet weight, respectively) but rather poor in tryptophan (0.14 g). The Mg concentration was fairly good (46.8 mg/100 g), providing more than 15% RDA. Vitamin B12 (1.27 μg/100 g), niacin (5.62 mg/100 g), and pyridoxine (0.44 mg/100 g) were able to meet 127, 31, and 22% RDA, respectively. Total collagen was 1.22 g/100 g wet weight, 68% of which was soluble. Xanthine was never detected. Adenine, guanine, and hypoxanthine mean levels were 15.47, 9.94, and 92.71 mg/100 g wet weight, respectively. © 1996 Academic Press, Inc.