FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION OF SOME COREGONID SPECIES (COREGONUS SPP) FROMDIFFERENT EUROPEAN LAKES

The muscle tissue of coregonid 'lavarello' (Coregonus forma hybrida) f rom Lake Bolsena (Central Italy), 'bondella' (C. macrophthalmus) from Lake Maggiore (Northern Italy) and 'bondelle' (C. macrophthalmus) from Lake Neuchatel (Switzerland), sampled during the whitefishes' growth season, were analysed to evaluate the fat content and the fatty acid c omposition. In fact, the lipid profile of the muscle is strongly subje cted to environmental influence and, as a consequence, its use as a pa rameter allowing 'identification of origin' of the fish products may b e possible. omega 3 HUFA (highly unsaturated fatty acids = C 20:5 + C 22:5 + C 22:6) content of fish from Lake Bolsena was lower than in cor egonid from Lake Maggiore, while the saturated fraction (SFA) was high er. Fish from Lake Neuchatel showed a lower omega 3 HUFA proportion th an in the two other lakes. These data demonstrate that significant dif ferences in fatty acid composition occur in similar fish species livin g in different lakes. Further studies are required to identify the rol e of each environmental variable, with special attention to temperatur e and food range.