
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the differences in the fatty acid composition between the species of finfishes of Nagapattinam coast, Tamil Nadu, India. The values of 20:0 and 20:2n-6 fatty acids did not significantly differ (P > 0.05) between S. fimbriata and E. malabaricus. The levels of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids varied between two fishes. The fatty acid composition showed quantitative differences in the percentages of individual acids between the species. Total fatty acids included 43.23% of SFA, followed by 37.29% of PUFA and 24.48% MUFA in S. fimbriata. In E. malabaricus total SFA content was 49.02%, MUFA 32.51% and PUFA 23.47% of the total fatty acid composition.