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Fatty acid composition of different tissues of Indian small mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) in Croatia

Indian small mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) is an invasive alien species in Croatia. The mongoose was introduced to the Island of Mljet at the beginning of the 20th century as a biological control of the snake population. Today it is present on fve islands: Mljet, Korčula, Hvar, Čiovo and Škrdi, and it was also introduced to the Pelješac peninsula from where it started to spread onto the mainland. Analysis of fatty acid (FA) composition is a technique used to examine the foraging habits of free-ranging animals. The study was conducted on 10 male mongooses legally harvested on the Pelješac peninsula. We collected m. gluteus superftialis (MG), m. vastus lateralis (MV), m. semitendinosus (MS), liver around v. portae (L) and perirenal adipose tissue (PAT). After homogenization and lipid extraction of different tissues, FA composition was determined by gas chromatography. The results show a signifcantly higher ratio of arachidonic to docosahexaenoic acid (AA/DHA, C20:4n- 6/C22:6n-3) found in L in comparison to other tissues, with the exception of MS (p=0.01 ; p=0.04 ; p=0.01 for MG, MV and PRM, respectively). A signifcantly lower percentage of C14:1 was found in the L compared to other tissues (p=0.03 ; p=0.04 ; p=0.02 ; p=0.03 for MG, MS, MV and PAT respectively). A signifcantly higher percentage of AA was found in the L compared to all other tissues (p=0.01 for all tissues). We found signifcant differences in FA composition among different muscle tissues. Percentages of C14:0 and C15:0 were higher in MS compared to both MG and MV (p=0.01 for all comparisons). Also, the percentage of C16:1c was lower in MS compared to MG and MV (p=0.01). The perirenal adipose tissue had signifcantly lower percentages of AA and DHA compared to all three muscle tissues (p=0.01 for all tissues). Furthermore, PAT had a signifcantly higher ratio of monounsaturated FA (p=0.01 ; p=0.01 ; p=0.02 for MG, MS and MV, respectively), as well as a signifcantly lower ratio of polyunsaturated FA, in comparison to muscle tissues (p=0.01 for all tissues). It may be concluded that the composition of FAs differs according to the different tissues, probably reflecting different metabolic pathways.

fatty acid composition, Indian small mongoose, muscle, liver, adipose tissue

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