Carotenoids and vitamin A in fish

Seven commercial salmon and six trout samples were investigated. Retinol and the carotenoids astaxanthin and canthaxanthin important for pigmentation of the muscle were determined by RP-HPLC. Vitamin A concentrations of raw salmon samples were 16-19 mu g/100 g, of smoked salmon samples 9-19 mu g/100 g; retinol values of salmon trout (raw) and trout (raw) reached 14-16 mu g/100 g and 7-9 mu g/100 g. Concentrations of astaxanthin the important carotenoid of pigmentation, ranged in samples of salmon from 310-465 mu g/100 g. Samples of salmon trout showed astaxanthin values between 90 and 536 mu g/100 g, trout samples only 67-85 mu g/100 g. Concentrations of canthaxanthin were different in the examined samples and were not detectable in all samples. Highest values of canthaxanthin were found in salmon trout samples (113-226 mu g/100 g), Irish smoked salmon and stremel-salmon (145-169 mu g/100 g). Raw samples of salmon and of trout showed only low concentrations of canthaxanthin. Astaxanthin and canthaxanthin together reached values of 419-524 mu g/100 g for salmon, 316-701 mu g/100 g for salmon trout, and 72-91 mu g/100 g for trout samples.