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ABSTRACT

Investigations were carried out on the oils and fishmeal of fishes collected from the Onitsha  regions  of  the  lower  Niger  river  for  possible  nutritional  and  industrial applications. A total of 27 species belonging to 25 different genera  were collected. From the results obtained, the highest moisture content was  recorded for Electricus membranicus with a value of 88.03% while the least value of 59.93% was recorded for Hypeopisus bebe. Extraction of oil and percentage oil yield analysis showed that high percentage oil yields for the fresh and dry fishes of 8.19 and 22.80 were obtained for Hyperopisus bebe and Schilbe mystus respectively while low values for both the fresh and dry samples of 0.21  and 1.05 respectively were obtained for Tilapia zilli. The difference  in means  for  the percentage  oil content between the fresh and dry samples was statistically significant (P<0.05). Based on the percentage oil yield of the fresh samples, they were classified into lean, low, medium and high fat fishes. The lean fishes constituted 33.33%, low fat fishes 40. 70%, medium fat fishes  22.22% while high fat fish constituted 3.70% of the total number of fishes  sampled. Good yields of fishmeal for the fresh and dry samples of 27.91% and 94.10% were obtained for Papyrocranus  afer and  Chrysichthys  nigrodigitatus  while  the  lower  yields  of 10.51% and 56.95% were obtained for Electricus membranicus and Hyperopisus bebe respectively.  The difference  in means for the percentage  yield of fishmeal  for the fresh and dry samples was statistically significant (P<0.05). The highest values for the cholesterol content in the oils, fresh and dry fishes were 113.00 mg /g of oil, 587.73 mg /100g  of fresh  fish and  1880.01mg  /100g of dry fish  recorded  for  Heterotis niloticus, Brycinus brevis and Brycinus brevis while the least values were 9.50mg /g of oil, 9.41mg/100g of fresh fish and 48.20mg/100g of dry fish recorded for Labeo senegalensis, Tilapia zilli and Tilapia zilli respectively. The difference in means for cholesterol contents in the fresh and dry fishes was statistically significant (P<0.05). The fatty acid analysis showed that the predominant fatty acids in the oils of the fishes of the lower Niger river were linoleic, palmitic, oleic, linolenic and palmitoleic acids. Stearic, docosahexaenoic,  eicosapentaenoic, myrisic and lauric acids were present in moderate  amounts  while  myristoleic,  arachidonic,  capric  and  caprylic  acids  were present in very low levels. The nutritionally important omega-3 fatty acids EPA  and DHA were each present in 14 samples but predominantly in Protopterus senegalus, Heterobranchus  bidorsalis and Mormyrus  macrophthalamus  at levels of 6.90, 6.60 and 0.97 g /100g fish oil for EPA while DHA was predominantly found in Synodontis clarias, Tilapia zilli and Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus at levels of 5.45, 2.91 and 2.71 g/100g of fish oil respectively.  High values for n-6 and n-3 fatty acids for the fish oils were 59.24%  and 42.36% obtained from Brycinus brevis and Polypterus senegalus senegalus while the least values were 10.73% and 4.51% obtained from Polypterus senegalus senegalus and Chrysicththys nigrodigitatus respectively. A high value for percentage  C-20    +  C  -22  n  -3  fatty  acids  for  the  oils  was  6.90,  recorded  for Polypterus senegalus senegalus while 0.37 and 1.21 were  recorded  for Synodontis clarias for the fresh and dry fishes respectively. However, low values of 0.07 and 0.01 were obtained for Protopterus annectus and Clarias  ebiriensis for the oils and dry fishes respectively. Hydrocynus forskalii, Distichodus rostratus, Citharinus citharus, Parachanna obscura, Tilapia zilli,  Dagetichtys lakdoensis, Mormyrops anguilloides and Lates niloticus all had a low value of 0.01 for the fresh fishes. The n-3/n-6 is an expression of the levels  of n-3 fatty acids against the levels of n-6 fatty acids. A higher value of 3.95 was obtained for Polypterus senegalus senegalus while a lower value of 0.12 was obtained for Brycinus brevis for the oils, fresh and dry fishes. The expression C-20 + C – 22 n – 3/n -6 is more indicative of the value of fish oils and a good   value of 0.64 was obtained for Polypterus senegalus while the least value of 0.002  was  recorded   for  Clarias  ebiriensis  for  the  oils,  fresh  and  dry  fishes respectively. The n-3/n-6 and the C-20  +  C-22n-3/n-6 values obtained for the fishes of the Onitsha  regions  of the  lower  Niger  river  fall within  the  range  of   values obtained   for the temperate fishes although some temperate  fishes have very high values. The study therefore indicates that the oils of some of the fishes of the lower Niger river could be good for the control of cardiovascular diseases and production of nutraceuticals or pharmaceuticals while the fishmeal could serve as raw material for the production of animal feeds.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0      INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Fishes belong to three of the seven classes under the subphylum  vertebrate which are Agnatha, Chondriclthyes and Osteiclthyes. Consequently, they include the animals commonly called the jawless vertebrates, sharks, rays and bony fishes. Their geographical distribution varies widely and range from thermal springs to cold seas. Fishes are also found in mountain torrents as well as in low land streams and while some fishes dwell on the surface of oceans some others prefer the ocean floors and others are mid water oceanic fishes.

Fishes are widely consumed in various parts of the world and are sold as fresh, frozen, dry, salted and dried, smoked and canned fishes. Consequently, it is a major export and import commodity. The fish is processed into fishmeal and fish oil. The meal is used as a source of protein in the production of animal feeds. The oil is used as industrial  raw  material  for  various  products  some  of  which  are  printing  inks, protective coatings, plasticizers, oil field chemicals,  mold-release  agents, lubricants and greases, leather tanning, insecticidal,  compounds, soaps, fermentation substrates fatty chemicals,  press wood fibre  board, mushroom culture and hydrogenated  oils. Before 1940 fish oil was considered mainly as a source of vitamin A and D. The oil was just considered as industrial oil and used accordingly.

Recently fish oils have been associated with the reduction of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). This is as a result of the epidemiological studies among the Greenland Eskimos and Danes as well as the coastal and inland Japanese which showed that there was a very low incidence of CVD among the Eskimos and the coastal Japanese as a result of fish oil consumption when compared to the Danes and  inland  Japanese  who  consumed  less fish oil (Dyerberg  and  Jorgensen  ,1982; Tamuro  et al, 1993). The  farmous  20 years Zutphen study firmly established  that regular consumption of fish reduced male death from CVD (Kromhout el al 1985). The CVD lowering properties of fish is attributable to the omega-3 fatty acids which are eicosapentaenoic  acid and docosahexaenoic acid (Ackman, 1989; Dyerberg and Schmidt,  1993;  Haumann,  1997).  Volunteer  studies  with  humans  also  led  to  the reduction  of blood  lipids  (Mori  et al, 1994).  Similar  investigation  carried  out  in experimental animals also lower the risks of CVD (Charnock, 1994; Kinoshita et al, 1994).

The  direct  effects  of  fish  oils  on  the  blood  lipids  are  the  reduction  of triacylglycerol,  total cholesterol,  VLDL,  LDL (Haris et al, 1993) and  lowering of platelet adhesiveness (The Report of the British Nutrition  Foundations Task Force,

1993). The eicosapentaenoic  acid of fish oil also produce the protalandins 3  series which have potent antiplatelet stickiness effects and also are antithrombotic (Erasmus, 1991).

These health benefits of fish oil developed the market and led to a great rise in the economic  value and revenue  from fish oils  (Ackman,  1989;  Opstvedt,  1990). Consequently in 1977 the total world production of fish oil was one  million metric tonnes (MMT) but by 1986 this has attained a 60% rise to about 1.7 MMT (Opstvedt,

1990) and a total world sales of 0.96$ billion dollar in 2007 (Josupiet, 2009).

In modest terms it can be said that Nigeria is not participating effectively in this global business. This situation is made worse by the fact that the freshwater fish species  of  Nigeria  is  the  richest  in  West  Africa  with  more  than  268  presently identified (Olaosebikan and Raji, 1998).

In the developed countries of the world consumers are usually aware of the nutritional compositions of the food they consume because most of the food sources have been analysed for their nutrient contents. This serves as a guide to the choices they make for healthy living. Consequently,  a lot of the fishes from these countries have also been analysed  and their oil contents,  fatty acid  profiles and cholesterol contents of the oils among other parameters are known. This information series as a guide on the choices of fish they consume as well as the value placed on them. They are also better informed on the fishes that serve as good sources for the preparation of omega-3 fatty acid concentrates. There is therefore the need for us to investigate the different fishes in our water bodies. The Niger river is the largest fresh water body in Nigeria.  The Onitsha market  is  one of the largest in Nigeria  and The Niger river (lower Niger river) flows across this city. It therefore serves as a major outlet and can provide   an  array  of   capture  fishes  of  the  lower  Niger  river.  Therefore,   the

investigation  of  these  fishes  will  enable  us  to  establish  some  of  the   nutrient compositions of some of the fishes consumed in Nigeria.

In this study the different genera of fishes in the Onitsha regions of the lower Niger  river  will  be  identified.  Some  basic  processing  requirements  of  industrial importance  like  moisture  and  fishmeal  compositions  will  be  identified.  The  oil contents  of the  fishes  will be determined.  The fatty acid  profiles  and  cholesterol contents of the fish oils and fishes will also be determined. The fatty acid profile will among others indicate the omega-3 fatty acid contents of the fish oils and fishes. The above  information  are  of  industrial  nutritional  neutraceutical  and  pharmaceutical importance and will lay some basic foundation to create the necessary value for the development of capture and aquaculture fisheries for domestic and export purposes.

1.2      LITERATURE REVIEW

The phylum chordate is one of the phyla in the animal kingdom. It is divided into   the   subphyla   vertebrates,   cephalochordates   and   urochodates.   There   are sevenextant classes of the subphylum vertebrata. These are Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, Osteichthyes,  Amphibia,  Reptilia,  Aves  and  Mammalia.  The  last  four  classes  are called   tetrapods   while   the   first   three   classes   Agnatha   (jawless   vertebrates) Chondrichthyes  (sharks  and  rays)  and  Osteichthyes  (bony  fishes)  are  commonly called fishes (Campbell, 1993).

The  class  Agnatha  (jawless  vertebrates)  includes  the  sea  lampreys   and hagfishes and presently there are about 60 species of these jawless vertebrates. The class Chondrichthyes  are sharks and related fishes having about 750 extant species with their skeleton made of cartilages. However, sharks and rays are the most wide spread members. Sharks gain buoyancy by storing large amounts of oil in their huge livers,  nevertheless  they  are  still  more  dense  than  water,  so  anytime  it  stops swimming, it sinks. As they swim, water enters the mouth and leaves through the gills making it possible for gaseous exchange to take place. Some sharks, many skates and rays spend reasonable time resting on the bottom of the sea during which they pump water actively over the gills.  Sharks are carnivorous,  have sharp vision but cannot distinguish colours while  their nostrils are for olfaction only and not for breathing. Rays have greatly enlarged pectoral fins which are for propelling them through the water. So they are flattened but their tails are whiplike and bear venomous barbs used for defence in some species. They crush mollusks and crustaceans for food using their jaws. The dogfishes are also among the Chondrichthyes (Vines and Rees, 1982).The class  Osteichthyes,  also  called  the  bony  fishes  have  about  30,000  species  thus representing  the  most numerous  class of vertebrates.  They are found  in  seas  and freshwater.  Most  of  the  fishes  we  are  conversant  with  are  bony  fishes.  Unlike cartilaginous fishes bony fishes have their skeleton reinforced by calcium phosphate. Their  skins  often  are  covered  by  scales.  Glands  in  their  skins  produce  mucus secretions  which make  them  slimy thereby reducing  drag  when they swim. They breathe by drawing water over the gills which are covered by the operculum. Water is drawn to the mouth, through the pharynx  and  exits between the gills through the movement  of the operculum  and  muscles  in the gill chambers  thereby making  it

possible for bony fishes to breathe when they are stationary. Contrary to sharks, swim bladders are present in most bony fishes. It is an air sac which serves as buoyancy regulator in fish. Exchange of gases between the swim bladder and the blood changes the inflation of the bladder thereby adjusting the density of the  fish. Unlike sharks many bony fishes can remain almost motionless thus conserving energy.

The  bony  fishes  have  three  subclasses.  They  are  the  ray-finned   fishes (Subclass Actinopterygii),  the lobe-finned  fishes (Subclass  Crossopterygii)  and the lungfishes (Subclass Dipnoi) (Campbell, 1993).Almost all the families of fishes we are conversant with are ray-finned fishes of the Subclass Actinopterygii. They include the bass, trout, perch, tuna, herring salmon, sea-run trout among others. Among the Polypterini, only Bichir (Polypterus) of the African rivers exists and it has both lungs and ray-fins (Vines  and Rees, 1982). However, many species of genius Polypterus exist (Olaosebikan and Raji, 1998).

In  the  Subclass  Crossopterygii,  the  lobe-finned  fishes  only  one  order  the Coelacanthini exists (genius latimeria found in East London). In 1952 off  Anjouan Island a different genius 1.5 metres, blue in colour was trapped at a depth of twenty metres 200 miles West of Madagascar  called Malanii  anjouani.  (Vines and Rees, 1982).The Subclass Dipnoi, the lungfishes generally are found in stagnant ponds and swamps. They can gulp air from the surface into lungs connected to the pharynx of the  digestive  tract.  Their  present  occurrence  are  in Australia  (genius Ceratodus), Africa (genius  Protopterus)  and South America  (genius  Lepidosiren).When  ponds shrink during the dry season lungfishes have the ability to burrow into the mud and rest. The ability to breathe air at the surface  is common to both lungfishes and the lobe-finned fishes because they have opening of the nostril into the buccal cavity. So, most  lungfishes  and  lobe-finned  fishes  can  use  their  lungs  to  help  the  gills  in breathing.Generally  speaking,  fish is any gill bearing aquatic vertebrate (or cranite) animal that lacks limbs  with digits such as hagfishes,  lampreys,  cartilaginous  and bony fish. Fish is any non tetrapod cranite (animal with a skull and in most cases a backbone) that has  gills all through life and whose limbs when present are in the shape of fins (Wikipedia, 2011). Fish includes hagfishes, sharks, rays, ray-finned fish, coelacanths,  and  lungfish  (Wikipedia,  2011).  Consequently  aquatic  animals  like shellfish, cuttlefish, starfish, crayfish, jellyfish, cetaceans like whales and   dolphins

are not fish. A typical fish is ectomic with a streamlined body for rapid swimming and extracts oxygen from water with gills or uses accessory breathing organ to  breath atmospheric oxygen,  has two sets of paired fins, usually one or two  (rarely three) dorsal fins, an anal fin and a tail fin, has jaws as well as skin usually covered with scales  and lays eggs. The various groups of fishes  account for more than half of vertebrate  species. Of the 28,000 known extant  species, 27,000 are bony fish, 970 sharks, rays and chimeras and about 108 are hagfish and lampreys (Wikipedia, 2011).

Fish suffer from diseases and parasites. They prevent diseases through the skin and  scales  including  the  mucus  layer  secreted  by the  epidermis  which  traps  and inhibits  the  growth  of microorganisms.  When pathogens  breach  these nonspecific defense  systems  fish  has  the  ability  to  develop  an  inflammatory  response  which increases the flow of blood to the infected areas  and delivers white blood cells to destroy those pathogens. When the body of the fish recognizes a particular pathogen a specific defence will be generated  (immune response) (Wikipedia, 2011). Recently vaccines have been used in aquaculture and with ornamental fishes like furunclosis vaccine in farmed salmon and koi herpes virus in koi (Wikipedia, 2011) Some fish use cleaner fish to remove external parasites. These small fish like the Bluestreak cleaner wrasses  found in  coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific  Oceans  maintain  “cleaning stations” where  other fish gather and make some specific movements to attract the attention of the cleaners (Wikipedia, 2011). One major threat to the survival of fish and the fishing business is overfishing. It is a threat to edible fish like cod and tuna. The Pacific sardine Sadinops sagax caerulues fishery collapsed from a peak in 1937 of  800,000  tons  to  24,000  tons  in  1968  after  which  the  fishery  was  no  longer economically viable. While fishery scientists and conservationists push for stringent protection,  the  fishery  industry  is  having  a  different  view  and   government  is predisposed  to support the fishing industry because it is a key employer  of labour (Wikipedia, 2011). Plate 1.1 shows (A) Marcusenius  senegaliensis and (B) Alestes baremose sourced from Onitsha regions of lower Niger river.


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EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF OILS OF THE DIFFERENT GENERA OF FISHES FROM THE FRESHWATER OF LOWER NIGER RIVER

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