Edible composition of different finfishes imported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from certain Asian and Arab countries

Abstract Edible composition of different finfishes viz., Grouper, Rabbitfish, Parrotfish, Catfish, Emperor, Tilapia, Milkfish, Sea bream and Sea bass imported by Saudi Arabia from certain Asian and Arab countries was evaluated in the present study. The statistical analysis of one-way ANOVA revealed that the moisture content varied (p < 0.05) from 65.03–87.27%. Catfish had the highest value of moisture (87.24%) and the least value was noticed in Sea bream (65.03%). Tilapia, Emperor and Milkfish had the highest (p < 0.05) crude protein (21.39–21.77%) followed by Sea bass, Grouper and Parrotfish (19.34-21.012%). The level of crude lipid was drastically high (p  1.2%, except Sea bream (0.96%). There was no significant difference in total carbohydrates among the fishes analyzed. Sea bream showed the highest gross energy (2563.11 Cal/g), while the least value was found in Catfish (692.02 Cal/g). The daily values of protein for all the fishes were grouped under the category of very good (22.28–47.11%) and it was poor for lipid in all the fishes (0.40–8.51%), except Seabream (21.91%). Results conclude that all the analyzed fishes have own nutritional characteristics and all are found to be good sources of nutrients.