Abstract:
Fish curing is one of the best methods to preserve the fish by means of reducing free water content
and creating a medium unfavorable for microbial proliferation. The present study was designed to
introduce new curing compounds; Amla (Phyllanthus emblica) and Bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) to
prepare the cured fish products, locally called Ambulthiyal. Both compounds have higher
availability and high medicinal value. Amla has histidine decarboxylase inhibitory compounds that
affect reducing histamine production. Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), locally called as Balaya
were purchased (n=3) from the Dondra fishery harbor, cut into pieces (1 inch3) separately, and
cured with the proportion; 8: 1: 0.24: 0.24: 2 of fish: curing compound: salt: pepper: water to make
the triplicates. Sensory analysis, pH determination, and proximate composition (moisture, protein,
fat, ash) were done to evaluate the quality of cured fish. For the sensory evaluation, appearance,
color, odour, texture, flavor, and overall acceptability were tested with a 5-point Hedonic scale.
Proximate analysis and pH determination were carried out after one day and one week of curing
separately. The results of the sensory analysis carried out by 30 panelists after one day of curing
indicated a higher Hedonic value (4.53±0.73) to the overall acceptability of the sample cured with
Bilimbi. The moisture content of cured fish samples was lower than the raw fish samples. The
lowest moisture content (53.80%±3.66) was observed in the fish samples cured with Garcinia on
the seventh day of curing. The fish samples cured with Amla showed significantly higher (p<0.05)
moisture content than those cured with Bilimbi. The fish samples cured with Bilimbi had
significantly higher (p<0.05) lipid content (8.93±9.26) after one week of curing over the other fish
samples. Raw fish samples of Katsuwonus pelamis had higher amounts of crude protein
(20.66±0.27) than the other cured samples. The fish samples cured with Garcinia had significantly
(p<0.05) higher crude protein content (17.15±0.087) after one week of curing than the fish samples
cured with Amla and Bilimbi. The ash percentage (13.00±0.59%) of raw fish samples was higher
than the cured fish samples after one week of curing. The pH of the raw fish samples was higher
(8.06±0.04) than that of the cured samples. Present findings help recommend that Phyllanthus
emblica (Amla) and Averrhoa Bilimbi (Bilimbi) can be used as fish curing compounds.
