ABSTRACT
Siluriformes is a highly diverse order of species that exhibit a wide array of morphologies, diets and life strategies. This study evaluated the effect of seasonal variations on the proximate composition, fatty acid composition and nutritional profiles of nine fish species of Siluriformes order from the Amazon Basin. The proximate composition varied throughout seasonal periods with larger differences in total lipid content. Hypophthalmus edentaus showed the largest variation (9.26-26.29%) between drought and flood periods, respectively. The fatty acid composition also varied throughout seasonal periods; the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents significantly (p < 0.05) increased for most of the studied species in the flood period and n-3 fatty acids represented 23% of this increase. Docosahexaenoic acid was the most abundant PUFA during the flood period and Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum (40.17 mg g-1) and Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (39.93 mg g-1) showed the highest contents. Some species such as Ageneiosus inermis exceed the recommended daily intake of EPA + DHA. All the fish species presented favorable indices of nutritional quality for total lipids. The principal component analysis resulted in a two-principal component model that described 85.15% of the total data variance. It also highlighted that the nine fish species were affected by seasonal variations in their habitat, some to a greater extent than others. The results suggested that the consumption of those fish species contributed to human health.
