Factors Affecting Vitamin D Content in Sardine, Salmon and Shrimp during Different Cooking Processes

This study intended to examine how food composition and cooking process impacted the post-cooking vitamin D content of farmed salmon, local sardine and shrimp. The edible portions were cooked using three different methods: frying, oven cooking and grilling. Before and after cooking, vitamin D, moisture and oil contents, as well as antioxidant activity, were determined. The findings indicate that local sardine exhibited a significantly higher concentration of vitamin D (49.58 µg/100 g) than farmed salmon (24.86 µg/100 g) on a dry basis. Moreover, oven cooking and grilling were found to be more effective methods of preserving vitamin D content. A significant relationship between the vitamin D content and antioxidant activity of food samples was also observed (r=0.8144, p<0.05). Furthermore, an inverse correlation was noted between vitamin D content and the cooked samples’ internal temperature as well as moisture and oil contents (r=-0.2652, r=-0.4158 and r=-0.2334, respectively). These results suggest that internal temperature, moisture content and antioxidant capacity have a significant impact on certain foods’ vitamin D content during cooking. Further investigations are warranted to explore the potential of antioxidant addition in stabilising vitamin D during thermal food processing. KEYWORDS antioxidants, cooking methods, fish, stability, temperature, treatments