Evaluation of the Biochemical Composition of Some Cultivable Cichlids (Tilapia Species) in Nigeria

The biochemical composition of three cultured cichlids (Tilapia zilli, Tilapia guineensis and Orechromis aureus) were evaluated and compared. The proximate composition of the cichlids was determined using official methods of analysis, mineral composition was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and the amino acid composition was analyzed using Amino Acid Analyzer. The proximate composition of the three cultured species of tilapia fish (T. zilli, T. guineensis and O. aureus) indicated that moisture content, crude fat, crude fiber and ash content showed significant difference (p<0.05) among the three species while crude protein and carbohydrate content showed no significant difference (p<0.05) among the three species. The mineral contents such as zinc, magnesium and manganese showed significant difference (p<0.05) among the three species of tilapia (T. zilli, T. guineensis and O. aureus) while sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus and copper contents showed no significant difference (p<0.05) among the three species. The amino acid composition showed lysine as the most abundant amino acids present in all the cultured cichlids studied. This shows that these cultured cichlids are highly nutritious and would be of great value to consumers.