Extraction of fish body oil from Sardinella longiceps by employing direct steaming method and its quantitative and qualitative assessment

Objective:To analyze the quantitative and qualitative properties of the extracted fish oil from Sardinella longiceps(S.longiceps).Methods:Four size groups of S.longiceps were examined for the extraction of fish oil based on length.The size groups included Group I(size range of 7.1-10.0 cm),Group II(size range of 10.1-13.0 cm),Group III(size range of 13.1-16.0 cm)and Group IV(size range of 16.1-19.0 cm).Fish oil was extracted from the tissues of S.longiceps by direct steaming method.The oil was then subjected to the determination of specific gravity,refractive index,moisture content,free fatty acids,iodine value,peroxide value,saponification value and observation of colour.Results:The four groups showed different yield of fish oil that Group IV recorded the highest values of(165.00±1.00)mL/kg followed by Group III[(145.66±1.15)mL/kg]and Group II[(129.33±0.58)mL/kg],whereas Group I recorded the lowest values of(78.33±0.58)mL/kg in monsoon season,and the average yield was(180.0±4.9)mL/kg fish tissues.These analytical values of the crude oil were well within the acceptable standard values for both fresh and stocked samples.Conclusions:The information generated in the present study pertaining to the quantitative and qualitative analysis of fish oil will serve as a reference baseline for entrepreneurs and industrialists in future for the successful commercial production of fish oil by employing oil sardines.