FREE AMINO-ACIDS, CREATINE, ATP RELATED-COMPOUNDS, TRIMETHYLAMINE OXIDE, AND INORGANIC-IONS OF THE MUSCLE EXTRACT OF FISHES CAUGHT IN THE AMAZON RIVER

A methanol extract was prepared from the ordinary muscles of nine Amaz onian fish specimens caught in May, the end of the rainy season and 11 fish specimens in August, the middle of the dry season of the same ye ar at Manaus where about 1,200 km from the estuary of the Amazon River . Free amino acids and other components of the extract were analyzed. The muscle extracts from Amazonian fish specimens caught in the rainy and dry seasons were generally rich in taurine, creatine, 5'-inosinic acid or inosine, and several inorganic ions. The muscle extract of Pel lona castelnaena was rich in taurine and several acidic and neutral am ino acids. Relatively higher amounts of trimethylamine oxide were dete cted in the muscle extracts of Astronotus crassipinnis, Cichla sp., Pe llona castelnaena, and Prochilodus nigricans caught in the rainy seaso n and A. crassipinnis, Psectrogester amazonica, and Pellona castelnaen a caught in the dry season. A large peak that was presumed to be gamma -aminobutyric acid appeared in the chromatogram of amino acid analysis for Metynnis hypsauchen. Amounts of dry matter of the muscle extracts from fish specimens caught in the rainy season were slightly higher t han those of the muscle extracts from fish specimens in the dry season .