The effect of seasonal variations on the fatty acid composition of three Nile fish species; Tilapia nilotica (LINNAEUS, 1757), Clarias lazera (CUVIER and VALENCIENES, 1840) and Synddontis scall (BLOCH-SCHNEIDER, 1801) was studied. The determination of fatty acids was carried out applying gas liquid chromatogra phic analysis.
The data revealed that lipids of the three studied fish species were found to contain 18 fatty acids with carbon chains ranging from C to Cja, most which were unsaturated fatty acids. Both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids varied markedly due to seasonality, since the percentage of saturation of fish lipid varies according to season.
The data revealed that the relative content of unsaturated fatty acids increased markedly in spring in the three studied fish species.