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. 2020 Oct 21;9(10):1516.
doi: 10.3390/foods9101516.

Variation in Nutrient Composition of Seafood from North West Africa: Implications for Food and Nutrition Security

Inger Aakre  1 , Annbjørg Bøkevoll  1 , Jamal Chaira  2 , Fatima Zohra Bouthir  2 , Sylvia Frantzen  1 , Anette Kausland  1 , Marian Kjellevold  1
Affiliations

Variation in Nutrient Composition of Seafood from North West Africa: Implications for Food and Nutrition Security

Inger Aakre et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Fish and seafood may play an important role for nutrition and food security as they contain essential vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. The aim of this study was to describe the nutrient composition, including fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, in commonly consumed fish species (fillet- and whole fish samples) sampled off the Northwest African coast. Furthermore, we assessed the species' contributions to the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) values from the World Health Organization (WHO). Samples of commercially important fish species (Sardina pilchardus, Engraulis encrasicolus, Trachurus trachurus, Pagellus acarne) were collected using trawling on the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in May 2017 and analyzed for nutrients at the Institute of Marine Research as individual and composite samples. All the analyzed fish species were good dietary sources of several vitamins and minerals and whole fish were substantially more nutrient dense than fillet samples, especially with regard to vitamin A, iodine, zinc, calcium, and iron. Including 100 g of sardine or anchovy (whole fish) in the diet, would contribute substantially to the RNI for vitamin B12, vitamin D and vitamin A, EPA and DHA as well as the minerals iodine, zinc, and calcium. This study shows that fish consumed with skin, bone, and viscera may be very nutrient dense and important for local food and nutrition security.

Keywords: Africa; fish; food and nutrition security; food composition data; micronutrients; nutrient composition; recommended nutrient intakes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percent of recommended intake of selected minerals and trace elements for 100 g of sardine (whole fish and fillet), anchovy (whole fish and fillet), horse mackerel, and axillary seabream. Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) values from WHO are used (WHO, 1998).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percent of recommended intake of selected vitamins and EPA + DHA of 100 g of sardine (whole fish and fillet), anchovy (whole fish and fillet), horse mackerel, and axillary seabream sampled from Northwestern African marine ecosystems, May 2017. Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) values from WHO are used (WHO, 1998) with the exception of EPA + DHA where the Dietary Reference Values (DRV) from EFSA are used (EFSA, 2010).
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