The Cutting By-Product of Fish Filleting on the Band Saw Machine: Nutritional Quality and Technological Potential

The by-products that come from frozen fish filleting on the band saw machine are discarded and the literature has no information about their proximate composition and potentialities. In this study, the physicochemical properties and technological potential of by-products from the filleting on the saw machine from three tropical fish species were evaluated: Golden fish ( Brachyplathystoma flavicans ), Serra Spanish mackerel ( Scomberomorus brasiliensis ), and Green weakfish ( Cynoscion virescens ). High protein content was observed in all samples (16.11 to 17.87 g/100 g) and the electrophoretic profile showed that these proteins are strongly similar to those found in the edible muscular portion of fish. The ash and collagen content did not exceed 3.16% and 1.98%, respectively. All samples showed considerable levels of lipid oxidation products (7.19 to 11.27 mg MDA/kg of sample), conferring to the matrix the potential to be used as a flavoring agent, especially the Serra Spanish mackerel sample. The results suggest that the by-products generated after fish filleting on the band saw machine have nutritional features similar to the edible muscular portion of fish (n-6/n3: 0.29–0.55; PUFA/MUFA: 0.34–0.57) and may be used as a raw material for the production of products with higher added value. Graphical Abstract