Chemical composition and thermal properties of Tilapia oil extracted by different methods

Fish oil is beneficial to health and its quality is significantly impacted by the extraction method. To determine the effect of various methods used to extract the oil on its chemical composition and thermal properties, tilapia oil extracted by dilute alkali hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, and microwave-assisted methods were investigated in this study. Nutrient analyses showed that freeze-dried tilapia contained fat (36.69 g/100 g freeze-dried tilapia), protein (49.95 g/100 g freeze-dried tilapia), ash (12.04 g/100 g freeze-dried tilapia) and moisture (1.21 g/100 g freeze-dried tilapia). Chemical analysis showed that the fish oil extracted by dilute alkali hydrolysis had the lowest acid value (AV) and peroxide value (POV) (AV: 0.77 mg KOH/g oil and POV: 3.76 mmol/kg oil) compared to the oil extracted using the other methods. The main fatty acid components were palmitic acid (22.78–23.16%), oleic acid (25.73–26.19%), and linoleic acid (15.69–15.98%). Furthermore, the oil extracted by dilute alkali hydrolysis showed significantly higher content of DHA+ EPA (2.30%). The thermal behaviors indicated that the aforementioned oils had significantly different crystal structures. The main endothermic peaks of fish oil extracted by dilute alkali hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis and microwave-assisted methods were located at −2.03℃, −3.20℃ and −4.37℃, respectively. However, infrared spectroscopic analyses indicated them had the same characteristic functional groups. Consequently, different extraction methods significantly affect the oil’s physical and chemical properties without affecting spectral characteristics. Furthermore, these results advocated the use of alkali hydrolysis for fish oil extraction.