Effect of different cooking methods on fatty acid composition of Abu mullet (Liza subviridis) oil treated with fennel alcoholic extract

Today, fish consumption, to provide nutrients and also maintain human health, is increasing worldwide. In this work, green back mullet fish was firstly divided into three groups: the first group was kept as raw sample and other two groups were cooked by two methods of frying and oven baking (with and without fennel extract) and then transferred to the freezer (-18C), stored for 5 months. In defined intervals, the samples were defrosted using oven and microwave methods. In different processing methods, physiochemical characteristics and fatty acids profile of treated and raw fish were analyzed. The results revealed that oven-baked sample had the lowest moisture (51.97%) and highest protein (39.69%) over cooking. The fried sample due to oil absorption during frying had the highest fat content (8.6%). The most amounts of fatty acids in green back mullet were related to myristic, oleic and myristoleic acids. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in the oven baking did not differ with raw sample while this ratio in fried samples due to frying oil absorption increased. The content of EPA and DHA was reduced from 7.9 and 3.6% to 2.4 and 1.3%, respectively. Between reheating methods, there was no significant difference in fatty acids profile. In samples treated with fennel extract, the least changes in content of polyunsaturated fatty acids were observed during 5-month storage.