The effect of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) ovarian fat deposition on caviar yield and nutritional quality: introducing image processing method for sturgeon ovary fat determination

Abstract

Image analysis can predict the fat content of sturgeon ovaries that had been categorized as having a low, medium, and high fat content based upon the caviar yield expressed as a percent of the total ovary weight, and were correlated with the chemical measurement of total fat (<em>R</em> 2 = 0.83). The fatty acid composition of eggs was not influenced by ovary fat content. Palmitic acid (16:00) was the most abundant saturated fatty acid and oleic acid (18:1n-9) the most predominant monounsaturated fatty acids in sturgeon eggs regardless of the ovary fat content. No significant differences (<em>P</em> > 0.05) were observed in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in eggs from fish with different fat ovaries. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) coupled with principal component analysis indicated no significant difference in chemical compositions in sturgeon eggs separated from ovaries of different fat contents confirming the fatty acid composition results.