Chemical composition of the muscle of wild, extensively and intensively-reared gilthead seabream (Sparus aurataLinnaeus, 1758) from Sardinia

The aim of this study was to compare the quality traits ofSparus aurataspecimens from 2 different farming activities (intensively-reared in sea cages and extensively-reared in a coastal lagoon) and from the wild in Sardinia (Italy). Yields and biological indexes of the fish and biochemical and nutritional factors of their muscle were evaluated to verify putative differences due to their origin and/or the farming technique employed. Two different statistical approaches were applied to find out possible dissimilarities among the 3 groups: 1) univariate analysis and subsequent post-hoc comparison tests were employed to test specific hypotheses on each variable’s role; 2) multivariate analyses were used to assess which variables mainly contributed to differentiate the 3 groups. The results obtained showed that yields and biological indexes were higher in extensively-reared seabreams. Proximate composition revealed differences in term of lipid and moisture content: the former was superior in intensively-cultured fish, while the second was higher in those from wild stock. Protein and ashes did not show significant differences among the 3 groups studied. As regards mineral content, significant differences were detected probably as a consequence of different diets of the 3 groups. Finally, fatty acids profiles revealed that n-3 PUFAs were higher in wild seabreams, n-6 PUFAs were superior in the intensively-reared ones, while extensivelyreared fish showed the highest n3/n6 ratio.