Nutritional profile of hilsa fish [Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822)] in six selected regions of Bangladesh

This study was conducted to determine the nutritional value of hilsa fish from the six selected regions in Bangladesh. The moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate and energy value were found 66.94±7.34 to 72.04±5.77%, 18.95±3.97 to 20.56±4.57%, 4.97±0.89 to 8.21±1.87%, and 3.08±0.68 to 4.84±1.22%, 0.35±0.09 to 0.72±0.05% and 128.38±11.43 to 161.68±13.21 kcal/100 g respectively. The pH, TVB-N and salt value were found 6.52±0.07 to 6.84±0.10, 2.01±0.71 to 3.50±0.33 mg/100 g and 2.05±0.03 to 6.48±0.07% respectively. The vitamin A and vitamin C value were found 33.50±14.28 to 95.54±11.69 µg/100 g and 11.20±0.47 to 14.28±1.93 µg/100 g respectively. The calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were found 144.21±17.43 to 372.67±17.44 mg/100 g, 9.04±5.14 to 13.07±5.17 mg/100 g, 118.17±13.56 to 204.06±5.89 mg/100 g, 34.18±3.72 to 45.07±9.22 mg/100 g, 8.54±1.79 to 12.68±4.3 mg/100 g, 0.95±0.13 to 1.54±0.29 mg/100 g and 0.94±0.22 to 1.23±0.19 mg/100 g respectively. These values are useful references for consumers in order to choose fish and shellfish based on their nutritional contents. These results also suggest that the proximate composition of hilsa fish greatly varies due to physiological reasons and changes in environmental conditions, i.e., spawning, migration, and starvation or heavy feeding.