Comparison of the Oil Composition of Clarias gariepinus Collected from Four Lagoons in Lagos, South Western Nigeria

Oil composition of Clarias gariepinus collected from various locations were studied and compared. Oils contained in the fishes were extracted using Soxhlet extraction method. The physiochemical properties of the oils were determined using official methods of analysis while the fatty acid composition was analysed using Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrophotometer. The functional groups present in the oils were also detected using Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR). The oil content for the fishes was in the range of 30.65%-40.57%. The oil extracted from C. gariepinus collected from Badagry lagoon had the highest peroxide and iodine values (5.12 mg KOH/g and 129 mgI2/100 g). The fatty acid composition shows that the oils contains large number of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids except for the oil extracted from C. gariepinus collected from Ikorodu lagoon that contains large number of monounsaturated fatty acids. The FTIR spectra show the presence of carboxylic acid, methylene, esters, ketone and alcohol functional group. It was deduced from this study that habitat had strong impact on the oil composition of C. gariepinus.