SEASONAL VARIATION OF PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF HILSA SHAD (TENUALOSA ILISHA HAMILTON, 1822) IN THREE RIVER CHANNELS OF BARISAL, BANGLADESH

Abstract

The River Channels of Barisal are a good source of Hilsa in Bangladesh. The study was conducted to find out the seasonal variation of Hilsa in correspondence with proximate composition. In this study, Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha Hamilton, 1822) samples were collected during the three seasons (summer, rainy, and winter) from three different river channels (Kirtonkhola, Payra, and Rabnabad) of Barisal Division, Bangladesh, to determine the proximate composition content of Hilsa shad and its variation with seasons. Significant differences in proximate composition content of Hilsa shad were observed among the seasons. Although protein and lipid content differ significantly among the sites, the moisture and ash content of Hilsa shad were insignificant among the sites. The results revealed that moisture and protein content were highest in summer (moisture 69.03±1.68%, protein 19.50±0.54%) and lowest in winter (moisture 57.95±2.58%, protein 15.92±1.34%). In contrast, lipid and ash content peaked in winter (lipid 20.99 ± 2.15% and ash 3.05 ± 0.11%) and were lowest in summer (lipid 7.92 ± 0.49% and ash 1.27 ± 0.14%). The present study shows that different components of proximate composition varied significantly among the seasons. Further study is needed to determine the cause of the differences in amino acid and fatty acid levels, as well as minerals, to resolve the debate about the taste of Hilsa shad in cases of spatiotemporal variation.