Quality evaluation, authentication, and redundancy analysis of wild and farmed silver carp based on amino acid profiles

Elucidating quality disparities between farmed and wild fish is essential for the formulation of quality standards and the fulfillment of consumer expectations. In this study, wild and farmed silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) were systematically collected across 12 sampling sites. Significant differences in amino acid composition were identified, with amino acids such as Ala being more abundant in wild silver carp compared to farmed ones. The results revealed that the EAAI of farmed silver carp was relatively high. PCA and OPLS-DA further corroborated the amino acid differences between farmed and wild silver carp. Notably, Arg demonstrates potential as a biomarker for differentiating the farmed versus wild silver carp, with an AUC of 0.918, and achieved a 90% accuracy rate in validation. RDA showed links between amino acids and aquatic environments (e.g., His correlates positively with Cu). Research highlights the nutritional differences between farmed and wild silver carp, aiding ecological protection and market regulation.