Research Article: Proximate composition and amino acid profile of the whole body of juvenile Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)

The main objective of the current study was to analyze the proximate composition and the amino acid profile of the Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). Forty-eight fish (with an initial weight of 96.60± 7.45 g) were randomly sampled from a local sturgeon farm in Mazandaran, Iran. The proximate analysis of the fish body showed 24.38 ± 1.62 g/100g ww of dry matter, 61.52 ± 1.65 g/100g dw of crude protein, 10.53 ± 0.18 g/100g dw of lipid, 16.48 ± 1.3 g/100g dw of ash, 0.94 ± 0.03 % of NH3, and 2.45 ± 0.18 % of phosphorus. The essential and non essential amino acid composition provided the following values: Methionine: 1.57 ± 0.06 %, Threonine: 2.34 ± 0.08 %, Tryptophan: 0.56 ± 0.02 %, Arginine: 3.37 ± 0.12 %, Histidine: 1.32 ± 0.02 %, Isoleucine: 2.35 ± 0.05 %, Leucine: 4.27 ± 0.32 %, Lysine: 4.34 ± 0.27 %, Valine: 2.71 ± 0.09 %, Phenylalanine: Correspondence M. Shamsaei, Department of Fisheries, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, P.O. Box: 14515-877, Tehran, Iran. (Email: m.shamsaie@srbiau.ac.ir) 2.22 ± 0.07 %, Glycine: 5.12 ± 0.17 %, Serine: 2.43 ± 0.05 %, Proline: 3.11 ± 0.06 %, Alanine: 3.85 ± 0.09 %, Cysteine: 0.53 ± 0.15 %, Asparagine: 5.08 ± 0.2 %, and Glutamine: 7.63 ± 0.16 % dry weight. Compared to a number of international standards for evaluating sturgeon body composition and amino acid profile, the present study showed identical results in sturgeon farms to those released by FAO in 2011. Overall, the Persian sturgeon is not only an invaluable source of protein (i.e., essential and non-essential amino acids), but it can also assist farmers and researchers in formulating fish diets based on their real nutrition needs.