1. EFFECT OF PROCESSING (SMOKING AND OVEN DRYING) ON THE FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF THE ARMORED CATFISH (synodontis clarias)   BY ABDULAI E OLUWABUKOLA MATRIC NO:
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY, FACULTY OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCE, OLABISI ONABANJO UNIVERSITY, AGO IWOYE OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

2. INTRODUCTION/AIM OF STUDY
Fish is an important source of cheap first class protein that provides essential amino acids and some essential nutrients required in the human diet
The oil from fish however contains fatty acids which are beneficial to health and play major role in metabolism
However processing could affect the amount of these fatty acids.
The aim of the study is to investigate and determine the amounts of fatty acids present in the armored catfish and to determine the effect of processing (smoking and oven drying) on the fatty acid composition and also to ascertain their health benefits.

3. LITERATURE REVIEW
It has been reported that fish oil is rich in essential fatty acids such as the docosahexaenoic acid and ecosapentaenoic acid (Werner, 2005)
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids have beneficial effects on human health and a balanced proportion in the diet is important for the functioning of animal and human life
These fatty acids play major role in reducing the cholesterol level (Potter and kiss, 1995), and stabilizing the electrical activities of the heart cells (Dallongeville, 1991) in prevention of cancer (Sussana et al., 2004), prevention of the onset of schizophrenia and parkinsons (Lukiw et al., 2005) and improving learning abilities (Lim and Suzuki, 2002)
However, processing affects the fatty acids composition of the fishes as there is always loss during processing (Beyza, 2010)

4. METHODOLOGY
The fish samples were collected from the Epe lagoon and were degutted. They were then transported to the laboratory
The fish samples were grouped into 3; the fresh, ovendried and smoked groups
The fresh group was homogenized and stored for analysis. The oven-dried groups were oven-dried at 110oC using the Oven and the smoked groups were smoked using the industrial kiln at 70oC for 15 hours. Then the two groups were blended and packed for analysis
The fish oil were then extracted using the hexane method of extraction (1974). And the oil transferred to a vial.
The fatty acids were then separated and identified using the Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). And the chromatogram read.

5. RESULT
TABLE SHOWING THE FATTY ACIDS COMPOSITION OF THE FRESH AND PROCESSED FISH
GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF FRESH, OVENDRIED AND SMOKED SILVER CATFISH
FATTY ACIDS
FRESH
OVENDRIED
SMOKED
OLEIC ACID
22.30
18.40
15.30
HEXADECANOIC ACID
76.90
66.50
60.10
CIS-VACCENIC ACID
7.50
5.30
3.40
CIS-13-OCTADECENOIC ACID
10.20
6.30
6.50
DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID
5.40
2.00
1.70
EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID
4.30
1.40
OCTANOIC ACID -
0.25
0.28

6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The major long chain omega-3 fatty acids which are eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid have been found present in the fish and they make up about 4.31% and 5.40% of the total fatty acids respectively.
This study was in agreement with Augustsson et al (2003) as it was observed that palmitic and oleic acids take the large portion of the amount of fatty acids present in the fish oil of armored catfish
The two methods of processing were studied to find their effects on the fatty acid composition. The fatty acid composition of the processed fishes was reduced significantly compared to the fresh fishes. The reduction in fatty acids is in agreement with the work of Osibona et al, (2006)
Conclusively, the amount of unsaturated and omega -3 fatty acids present in the fish makes it safe for consumption, however oven drying is preferred to smoking as there was more fatty acids retained in the oven-dried groups compared to the smoked

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