r-FishProxCompAnalyzer

The proximate composition analysis is the quantification of main components that constitutes nutritional profile of any food and food products including fish, shellfish, fish feed and their ingredients. Understanding this composition is essential for evaluating their nutritional value and for making informed dietary choices. The primary components typically analyzed include; moisture/ water in foods, crude protein, crude fat/ lipid, total ash, fiber and carbohydrates AOAC(2005,ISBN:0-935584-77-3). In case of fish, shellfish and its products, the proximate composition consists of four primary constituents - water, protein, fat, and ash (mostly minerals). Fish exhibit significant variation in their chemical makeup based on age, sex, environment, and season, both within the same species and between individual fish. There is minimal fluctuation in the content of ash and protein. The lipid concentration varies remarkably and is inversely correlated with the water content. In case of fish, carbohydrates are present in minor quantity so that are quantified by subtracting total of other components from 100 to get percentage of carbohydrates.