EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SLIME CLEANING MATERIALS ON THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF CATFISH

Abstract

Using the best method for de-sliming fish makes it more nutritious, appealing, and tasty. A total of 60 mature Clarias gariepinus with an average weight of 298.0 ±0.01g were divided into four treatments de-slimed each for five minutes using cold water, warm water, alum and salt. The treated samples were further processed by smoking and the smoked samples were analyzed for their proximate composition. Sensory analysis was undertaken by twenty trained panelists to score the smoked products on a 10-point hedonic scale. The result of the proximate composition for the four treatments
significantly differs (p<0.05) from each other for each nutrient analyzed. The alum treated group has the highest crude protein content (29.20±5.11%), followed by the warm water group (23.20±8.10%), while the lowest recorded in percentage protein is the cold-water group (control) with a value of 18.13±3.17%. Parameters tested for sensory evaluation are not significantly different (p<0.05). The results of this study suggest that de-sliming materials do not have any deleterious effect on the nutrients of fish in contrary to some erroneous belief that alum usage may disrupt the nutritional
profile of fish and may be damaging to health.