Lipid nutritional value and bioaccessibility of novel ready-to-eat seafood products with encapsulated bioactives

In order to develop a healthy food with easily absorbable nutrients for the elderly, functional ready-to-eat seafood based on restructured fish fillets (from undervalued fish species) and encapsulated fish oil was prepared and assessed. Four restructured fish products (raw fillet, RF and raw fillet with encapsulated material incorporation, RF+, and fried fillet, CF and fried fillet with encapsulated material incorporation, CF+) were tested. The study entailed characterising lipid fraction and determining lipid and fatty acid (FA) bioaccessibility. Frying increased the weight of the n6 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) content, from 3.9-5.1% to 6.8-10.2%. PUFA concentration decreased from 32.6-45.0 (RF and CF) to 28.3-34.4% (RF+ and CF+). Regarding bioaccessibility, the n3/n6 PUFA ratios were lowered in RF and RF+ and augmented in CF and CF+. To meet the EPA + DHA RDI and derive potential benefits for the elderly, two servings of RF, RF+ and CF+ and three servings of CF per week would suffice by ignoring bioaccessibility. However, based on bioaccessibility, 12 servings of RF and 6 servings of RF+ and CF contrast with only 2 servings of CF+. CF+ would be an excellent choice for enhancing n3 PUFA intake, thus representing a way of valorising undervalued marine resources through innovative functional food.