Fish oils

Fish oils may generally be described as flesh oil, liver oil, or oil of the whole
fish. Fish liver oil is one of the most important by-products of fish. Liver, which
is a part of the offal discard during dressing of landed fish, is the storehouse of
glycogen and fat along with Vitamins A and D. This property of fish livers of
certain fishes like Cod, Shark, Ray, Halibut, Tuna, etc. has rendered it of
immense commercial value of providing highly medicinal ‘liver oil’.

(a) Composition of fish liver oil:

Water — 20% to 36%
Proteins — 5% to 10%
Fats — 55% to 75% (Unsaturated fatty acids higher in concentration than
saturated ones).
As fat carries with it high concentration of Vitamins A and D, the fat of fish liver
is the source of vitamins A and D rich liver oil.
Halibut and tuna liver have low fat but high vitamin A content, while cod liver
is rich in fat but poor in vitamin A.

(b) Method of extraction of fish liver oil:

For extraction of quality liver oil it is essential that the liver of fishes be in good
condition (either fresh or properly preserved). This is to guard the protein and
fat rather than vitamin A content which is very stable.
Depending upon the method of extraction used, fish liver oils are of the
following grades:
(1) Crude oil used for burning,
(2) High quality technical grade oil,
(3) Intermediate grade oil, and
(4) Edible oil for medicinal use.

(i) Oil extraction:

Some popularly used methods of oil extraction are given below:
(1) By autofermentation:
(2) By boiling:
(3) By steaming:
(4) By chemical digestion:
Chemical digestion is done by the following three methods:
(A) Aquacide digestion (B) Alkali digestion (C) Enzyme-alkali digestion:
(5) By solvent extraction:

(ii) Refinement of liver oil:

The oil after collection from the above methods is left to stand, so that water
and any particulate matter present in it settles down. Oil is then removed from
the top and is subjected to filtration, centrifuging, or treatment with Fuller’s
earth. The oil that is obtained is congealing oil.
It has stearine (triglyceride of stearic acid) present in it. Destearinated or non-
congealing oil is obtained by separating stearine, which is done by cooling the
oil slowly to 10°C. The oil, thus obtained, is again filtered in a chill room.

(iii) Standardisation of vitamin A potency in the extracted oil:

For commercial purposes, it is thus subjected to standardisation of vitamin A
potency by the following methods:
1. Biological estimation:
2. Colorimetric estimation with tintometer:
3. Photoelectric spectrophotometry estimation:

(c) Uses of fish liver oil:

Fish liver oil has the following uses:
(1) Crude liver oil is used for burning purposes or making lights in curing yards
by fishermen.
(2) Fish liver oil because of its high vitamin A and D contents can cure or
prevent occurrence of disease caused by the deficiency in the body of these
two vitamins, such as rickets, xeropthalmia, impaired vision and eye defects,
abnormalities of skin, mucous membranes and vertebrae.
(3) When taken orally it will ensure good growth of bone and teeth and will
develop more resistance to counter bacterial attack.
(4) The stearin obtained by chi I ling the oil is used to make soaps of inferior
grade and in leather curing.

Other uses...
(5) Inferior pharmaceutical grades are used in animal and poultry feeds.
(6) The volatile fraction of the liver oil, distilled at 250°C is toxic to bacteria and
fungi.
(7) Squalene present in certain shark liver oil as a constituent of the
unsaponifiable fraction of fish oil, is used as a mordant in the dyeing of
synthetic fibres.
(8) Lecithin, present in high concentration in dogfish liver oil (and in the oil of
fish eggs) is used as a wetting and an anti-bloom agent in the chocolate
industry.
2. Fish Body Oil:
Fish body oil is the oil obtained from the entire body of fishes like
Herring, Sardine, Salmon, Mackerel, Anchovy, etc. It is also
extracted from offal and other wastes discarded from canneries or
curing yards. Fatty fishes like Sardine yield more oil than non-fatty
fishes. However, on an average about half kg of fish body oil can be
obtained from five kg of fishes.
Fish body oil varies according to season, sex, size, age, nature of
food and the locality from which it is caught. It has been observed
that the body oil content in mackerel rises to a maximum in
October- November and falls thereafter.

Fish body oil substantially differs from fish liver oil. Fish body oil is
poor in vitamins A and D contents and has less unsaponifiable
matter as compared to fish liver oil. The presence of various
proportions of the glycerides of fatty acids (both saturated and
unsaturated groups) has resulted in various uses of fish body oil.

Methods of fish body oil extraction:

There are two methods of extraction of fish body oil:
(i) Dry method of extraction:
This method of extraction is used in fishes with low body oil content
and the oil recovery is less than the wet process. The fishes are
grounded in a grinder, cooked (with constant stirring) and pressed
to recover the oil.
(ii) Wet method of extraction:
In the wet method, the fishes are crushed to a pulp and cooked with
steam in a continuous vertical cylindrical cooker. The cooked
material is then pressed and a mixture of oil and stick-water
(pressed liquid of fish soluble) are collected into setting tanks or are
centrifuged to separate the oil.
Refinement of fish body oil:
The oil thus collected after pressing contains protein debris and lots
of other impurities such as water soluble and non-fatty acids of the
body tissues.
The pressed liquid is first filtered and then subjected to
various refinement processes such as:
(1) To neutralise the acids it is treated with caustic soda.
(2) To remove bad odour, the liquid is treated with super-heated
steam and sodium carboante.
(3) To bleach the unwanted dark colouration, it is subjected to
aeration.
(4) To remove moisture, it is heated to a temperature Of 105°C.
(5) To remove any stearine content, it is subjected to refrigeration.

Uses of fish body oil:

(1) The better grades of body oils formed, are used for edible
purposes.
(2) The fish body oil of high iodine value is very suitable for
manufacture of paints and varnishes, as it is a drying oil.
(3) It is used in dressing of leather and tanning of skin.
(4) Body oil of low iodine value are generally preferred for making
solid fats, such as margarine and lard (refined fat from the abdomen
of a pig) substitutes.
(5) It is used in the manufacture of laundry soap and cheaper grades
of toilet soap, insecticidal soap, etc.
(6) It is used in steel and iron industry for tempering of steel,
concentration of low grade iron ores, etc.
Other uses....
(7) Due to the presence of vitamins A and D, the fish body oil is used
for medicinal purposes, for animal and poultry feed and in
aquaculture practices.
(8) It is used in the manufacture of chemicals such as alkyl halides,
silicons and quaternary ammonium salts.
(9) It is used in the manufacture of cosmetics, lubricants, candles
and cutting oils.
(10) Fish oil formulations when sprayed on citrus trees have proved
effective as fungicide.
(11) It is used in the manufacture of printing inks, water-proofer
preparations, plastics and linoleum (a substitute for rubber).
(12) Body oil is used for smearing the surface of boats for longer
preservation.

Fish Silage:
‘Silage’ generally means fodder converted in a cylindrical tank called
‘silo’. Fish silage is a liquid or semisolid fish meal and is a highly
nutritive animal feed. It is produced by adding 3-4% of an acid to a
minced fresh fish or fish offal. Generally formic acid is used but
sulphuric or propionic acid can also be used.
This makes fish silage an excellent way of reducing waste and at the
same time converting the waste into a valuable product both in
terms of nutrition and in terms of economy.

By using these acids the pH of the mixture can be lowered to 4.0 or

below. This inhibits bacterial decay. The enzymes present in the
chopped fish act upon it and reduce the mixture to slurry. An
antioxidant is added to prevent rancidity of fats and the liquid can
be stored in a silo up to 6 months.
Then an acid is added to reduce the pH to ensure the product is
preserved. Enzymes from the fish active in the acid pH-range, will
immediately start a process of hydrolysis, breaking down the
protein into peptides and amino acids. When hydrolysis is
complete, a liquid product is ready for use or storage.
Fish silage is also obtained by fermentation with lactic acid bacteria
in molasses. The advantage fish silage has over fish meal is that the
vitamins remain unaffected to a large extent and the product is free
from fishy odour. Its production is more preferred in temperate
regions (Norway, Denmark, etc.) than in tropical countries.