Vol. 9, Issue 8, Part H (2025)

This study explores the effects of parasitic infection on the nutritional quality of Banded Gourami fish (Trichogaster fasciata), focusing on changes in proximate composition, amino acid profiles, and fatty acid composition between non-infected and infected fish. Fish samples were collected from three wetlands in the Gandak River basin, India, and investigated for parasitic infections and analysed for morphometric characteristics, proximate composition (moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash) using AOAC methods, amino acid profiles via HPLC, and fatty acid profiles using GC. The investigation revealed significant alterations in the nutritional profile of the infected fish. In particular, infected Gourami showed a notable decrease in moisture content, measuring 74.74% compared to 76.18% in non-infected fish. Conversely, there were substantial increases in crude fat (4.09% versus 3.14%), crude protein (15.45% against 14.80%), and ash content (6.32% compared to 5.69%). Amino acid profiling further highlighted a complex metabolic response where concentrations of glycine, histidine, and serine decreased, while levels of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline, lysine, and valine increased. Additionally, the study found distinct changes in the fatty acid profiles of infected fish. Notable alterations occurred among saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as linoleic acid (C18:2), alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3), arachidonic acid (C20:4), and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6) were significantly more concentrated in infected samples. The observed metabolic changes necessitate further research on different fish species.