Tuna fatty acids: I. initial studies on the composition of the light and dark meats of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)-structural isomers of the monoenoic fatty acids

Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is consumed in substantial amounts by humans. However, little has been reported on the fatty acid composition of bluefin body oil and on the isomeric structures of the unsaturated fatty acids. Because of the probable nutritional significance of unsaturated fatty acids, the present work was undertaken as an introductory study of the composition and structure of the fatty acids of tuna. The fatty acid composition of the light and dark meats from three bluefin tuna was determined by gas-liquid chromatography. A wide variety of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids were present in the oil from the meat of these speciments. the monoemoic fatty acid fraction, which comprises 34% of the total fatty acids was isolated and the isomers determined. Isomers found werecis-9-hexadecenoic acid,cis-9-octadecenoic acid,cis-11-octadecenoic acid,cis-9-eicosenoic acid,cis-11-eicosenoic acid,cis-11-docosenoic acid, andcis-13-docosenoic acid. Division of Industrial Research, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.