Amino Acids and Minerals in Fresh and Processed Catfish, Mackerel and Pork

The main tissue of meat is the muscle and it is a very rich source of amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid, histidine, arginine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, threonine, and leucine) and some minerals like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium. In this study, essential amino acid profile in fresh catfish, mackerel, pork and their processed products were determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Minerals were determined in the form of cation (magnesium, calcium, potassium, ammonium and sodium) and anion (fluorine, chlorine, Nitrate, Sulphate and phosphate) by Cadmium.mtw and ASUP5 – 100 marvin.mtw respectively. The most abundant amino acids determined were aspartic acid, glutamic acid, arginine, methionine and threonine which were found in catfish, mackerel and pork. Values observed were higher (p<0.05) in catfish and mackerel than pork. Fresh catfish and mackerel recorded higher values in most of the amino acids in both raw product and their frankfurters (CF and MF) than fresh pork. Sulphate values were also higher (p<0.05) in raw meat than their frankfurters. Higher level of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium were observed in processed pork frankfurter than fresh pork. Minerals such as calcium and sodium were present but are at a smaller quantity in meat.