Effect of live storage in diluted seawater on the postmortem changes of extractive flesh components of red seabream Pagrus major.

Some marine fish are stored alive without feeding at the market before being shipped on demand. To investigate the effect of live fish storage in diluted seawater (DSW) on the postmortem changes of extractive components of ordinary muscle from live red seabream Pagrus major stored in DSW, seawater (SW), and cultured in sea-surface culture cages (Control) were compared. Prior to ice storage, only phenylalanine showed a significant difference between DSW and Control, whereas eight extractive components, inosine-5′-monophosphate, and total amounts of free amino acids were significantly different between SW and Control. During the 21 days of storage, differences in five extractive components were observed between DSW and Control, whereas differences in nine extractive components, non-protein nitrogen, and total amounts of free amino acids were observed between SW and Control. Before storage, hierarchical clustering classified DSW and Control in the same cluster, separate from SW. After storage, most of the Control and SW samples belonged to different clusters, and DSW samples overlapped with Control and SW clusters. Thus, it is concluded that live storage in diluted seawater could maintain the profiles of extractive components of control before and after ice storage, better than those of SW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]