Time course of muscle fatty acid composition of cultured meagre (Argyrosomus regius) during the first sixteen months of a cage culture García Mesa, Sergio Suárez, María Dolores Rincón Cervera, M. A. Guil Guerrero, J. L. González, G. Cárdenas, S. García Gallego, Manuel Aquaculture Argyrosomus regius Fatty acids profile Muscle n-3:n-6 ratio Acuicultura Músculo Perfil de ácidos grasos Relación n-3:n-6 Juvenile meagre were sampled at intervals during their first 500 days in a cage-based fish farm. Fish muscle showed a relatively low fat content (0.65–2.0%) when compared with other species of farmed fish, corroborating the consideration of meagre as a lean fish. At the beginning of the assay, saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were in a similar proportion (approximately 30%), while polyunsaturated were close to 39% of total FAs, the n-3:n-6 ratio being of 3.8. Throughout the experiment a notable reduction in the sum of PUFA n-3 and an increase of linoleic (18:2n-6) and oleic acid (18:1n-9) was found. These changes led to a fall of n-3:n-6 ratio to values close to or lower than 1.0. Most probably, these changes reflect variations in the feeding regime applied during farming. In any case, fish offered good indices of lipid quality for human consumption. Se han muestreado corvinas juveniles durante los 500 primeros días de cultivo en jaulas flotantes. El contenido en grasa muscular fue relativamente bajo (0,65–2 %) en relación con otras especies de peces cultivados, lo que corrobora su consideración de pez magro. Al principio del ensayo, los ácidos grasos saturados y monoinsaturados mostraron una proporción del 30%, mientras que los poliinsaturados de un 39% del total de FAs, siendo la relación n-3/n-6 de 3,8. A lo largo del periodo experimental hubo una reducción notable de PUFAs n-3 y un incremento de ácido linoleico (18:2n-6) y, en menor proporción, de ácido oleico (18:1n-9), lo que llevó a una disminución de la relación n-3/n-6 hasta valores cercanos o menores de 1,0. Estos cambios reflejan variaciones en la composición del alimento durante el cultivo. En cualquier caso, la corvina ofrece buenos índices de calidad lipídica para la salud del consumidor. 2014-11-13T08:38:15Z 2014-11-13T08:38:15Z 2014 info:eu-repo/semantics/article García Mesa, S.; et al. Time course of muscle fatty acid composition of cultured meagre (Argyrosomus regius) during the first sixteen months of a cage culture. Grasas y Aceites, 65(1): e006 (2014). [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/33679] 0017-3495 1988-4214 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/33679 10.3989/gya.049813 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)