Technological Composition Analysis of the Rabbitfish (Chimaera monstrosa) in the North Atlantic

Introduction. Deep-sea fauna of the North Atlantic has a great potential for the development of food industry. Rabbitfish (Chimaera monstrosa) is a hydrobionts that makes up a significant proportion of bycatch in the traditional trawl and longline fishery. The research objective was to determine the technochemical composition and biochemical properties of organs and tissues of rabbitfish. Study objects and methods. The size-mass and total chemical composition was performed by standard methods. The amino acid composition of proteins was determined by chromatographic separation of amino acid derivatives obtained by reaction with orthophthalic aldehyde and β-mercaptoethanol. The method of one-dimensional thin-layer chromatography made it possible to determine the fractional composition of lipids. The fatty acid composition was determined using an S-180 gas-liquid chromatograph (Yanaco, Japan). The fat-soluble vitamins were determined by the saponification of samples with alkali, extraction, and separation of the unsaponifiable part. The fractional composition of proteins became clear after a planar polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on (MultiPhor II, Sweden). Results and discussion. The research featured the size-mass and chemical composition of body parts, the fractional and amino acid composition of proteins, as well as the fractional and fatty acid composition of lipids, vitamins, heavy metals, and organochlorine compounds in the tissues and organs of the rabbitfish. The sensory properties of the samples proved quite high. Hot smoked rabbitfish meat can be recommended for snack foods. Waste (heads, entrails, skin, cartilage, fins) makes up more than 50% of total body weight and can be used in feed production or as a protein-containing raw material for hydrolysates in microbiology, medicine, and food industry. Conclusion. The research involved a complex biochemical study of the rabbitfish organs and tissues. The performed technochemical studies made it possible to give preliminary recommendations on the directions of its most rational integrated use.