Squid (Loligo loligo ): The new source to extract omega-3 and omega-6 rich marine oils

Squids belong to the cephalopod family, which composes more than 5% of the total annual fishing volume of southern Iran as by- products; however, these do not have significant usage in Iran. This product was studied to extract the high-value products, i.e. marine oils rich in unsaturated multiple-band fatty acids from 50kg squid (Loligo loligo) obtained from Chabahar fishing and transferred to Urmia Research Center for further action. Extracting oil from squid was done by using the Dyer and Bligh standard method. The results indicated that 13±5% of wet weight of squid was oil; the percentage and profile of the extracted oils were made by using the G.C method. The results showed that squid oil had 29.40% saturated fatty acids and 23.70% single- band unsaturated fatty acids, and the total value of the unsaturated multiple-band fatty acids of the same was 40.20%. Also the contents of arachidonic acid was 2.78%, linolenic acid was 3.10%, linoleic acid was 5.20%, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was 15.40%, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was 9.60% of the total fatty acids. The results demonstrate that squid is considered for the first time as the new and rich source of Omega-3 and Omega-6.