Seasonal Variation in Lipid Class and Fatty Acid Composition of 12 Species of Korean Fish

Seasonal variation in lipid classes and fatty acid compositions of total lipid (TL) of 12 species of Korean fish muscle, which caught off Tongyeong coast of the Southern Sea (Nam-Hae) from Mar, 1995 to Feb. 1996, was studied. Triglyceride (TG) and free sterol (ST) were prominent lipid classes of neutral lipid in all fish species. The percent of TG rose with increasing TL content by season, but that of ST fell. The prominent lipid classes of phospholipid were phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), percents of PC and PE were higher in the fish containing lower lipid. The prominent fatty acids in all fish species were 16:0 () 22:6 (n-3) (), 18:1 (n-9) (), 20:5 (n-3) (), 16:1 (n-7) () and 14:0 (). With increasing TL content by season, the percent of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) such as 18:1 (n-9) and 16:1 (n-7) rose, but those of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as 22:6 (n-3) and 20:5 (n-3) fell. There was a negative correlation between the percent of the MUFA and the PUFA of total fatty acids. However, the PUFA content increased as the TL content increased by season. On the other hand, the percent of 16:0 almost unchanged by seasonal variation of lipid content.