TEXTURE ANALYSES OF TWO SCHIZOTHORACINAE FISHES IN TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA

Schizothorax macropogon and Ptychobarbus dipogon are important economic fishes in the Yarlung Zangbo River. Both are Schizothoracinaes containing a variety of essential fatty acids with high nutritional values. As food products, the textural characteristics of their meat determine important factors like taste or methods of treatment. To explore the preservation and utilization of fish resources in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, the texture profile analysis (TPA) method was used to analyze 12 textural parameters. Fish were captured from the Yarlung Zangbo River in Shigatse and Nyingchi City. Principal component analysis showed that the texture of P. dipogon captured from the Nyingchi segment was different from the same species captured in the Shigatse segment, and different from S. macropogon captured from both segments. Factorial analysis indicated that the textural characteristics of Schizothoracinae fishes in Tibet Autonomous Region can be summarized as hardness indices, overcome attraction indices and contractility indices, of which the accumulated variance contribution rate of the first four principal component factors was 81.472%. The three categories of the four principal component axes could be the main deciding parameters of the textural characteristics of Schizothoracinae fishes in Tibet Autonomous Region. This provides scientific data for subsequent development and utilization of Schizothoracinae fishes from the Yarlung Zangbo River in different geographical areas.