Discrimination of wild and domestic origin of sturgeon ova based on lipidsand fatty acid analysis

This study was designed to discriminate different origins of sturgeon eggs (wild or domestic) based on their biochemical composition. Fatty acid profi les of neutral and phospholipid fractions of three populations of white stu rgeon, Acipenser transmontanus (two domestic and one wild) and one populati on of wild lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens ova lipids were analyzed. Pal mitic acid (16:0) was the dominant saturated fatty acid in both neutral and phospholipid fractions of egg lipids regardless of species or population o rigin. Levels of palmitoleic (16:1n - 7) and docosahexaenoic (22:6n - 3) ac ids were species specific irrespective of fish origin. Palmitoleic acid was found at a significantly (P < 0.05) higher level in lake sturgeon egg neut ral lipids than in white sturgeon, The opposite was the case for 22:6n - 3. Other fatty acids, such as stearic (18:0) and oleic (18:1n - 9) acids, wer e origin specific rather than species specific. Stearic acid was found at s ignificantly lower levels in wild fish egg neutral lipids than in domestica ted fish ova, whereas 18:1n - 9 showed the opposite trend. Phospholipid fat ty acids were much less variable between species and among populations. We demonstrated that sturgeons' environment, thus their diet along with specie s specific characteristic life history (i.e., freshwater or marine origin) play an important role and markedly influence fatty acid composition of the ir eggs. Thus, egg fatty acid profile can be a viable tool in discriminatio n of different sturgeon populations with respect to caviar source and can u ltimately be used to protect endangered wild populations of sturgeon. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.