Fatty acid compositional dataset of Korean and Chinese farmed spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus)

Published: 7 August 2026| Version 1 | DOI: 10.17632/pjcv6r7jzm.1
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Description

This dataset provides individual-level fatty acid compositional data for farmed spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) of Korean and Chinese origin, distributed in the Korean seafood market. The data were generated to support geographical origin authentication research and underlie the analyses reported in the associated manuscript, which developed a machine learning-based model to discriminate Korean from Chinese farmed spotted seabass using fatty acid profiling. A total of 60 fish muscle samples are included: 30 spring reference samples (15 Korean, 15 Chinese) and 30 independent validation samples spanning spring and summer (13 spring, 17 summer). Fatty acid content was determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) following the Korean Food Code, performed by an external accredited testing laboratory. For each sample, up to 36 individual fatty acids from a standard 37-component reference panel were quantified; fatty acids below the detection threshold are reported as zero. The dataset is organized into four worksheets: Reference_Absolute and Reference_Normalized (30 spring reference samples), and Validation_Absolute and Validation_Normalized (30 spring/summer validation samples), each reporting fatty acid content in both absolute concentration (g/100 g) and relative composition (% of total fatty acids). Each row corresponds to one fish sample and includes sample ID, country of origin, sampling season, and sample role (reference/validation) alongside the fatty acid values. This dataset can be reused to benchmark alternative chemometric or machine-learning approaches for seafood origin authentication, to compare fatty acid profiles of farmed spotted seabass against other aquaculture species, or to support meta-analyses of regional variation in fish lipid composition.

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1. Cultured spotted seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) of Korean and Chinese origin were sourced from the Jagalchi Seafood Market, Busan, South Korea, between February and August 2022. Thirty reference samples (15 Korean, 15 Chinese) were collected in spring, and thirty independent validation samples (13 spring, 17 summer) were collected separately for model validation. 2. Fish were euthanized by neck dislocation; fins, guts, and blood were removed, and fillets were prepared. Muscle tissue was freeze-dried and homogenized using a Mixer Mill MM400 (Retsch GmbH & Co., Haan, Germany) at 25 Hz for 60 s, then stored at −80 °C until analysis. 3. Fatty acid content was determined in accordance with the Korean Food Code (MFDS, 2023). Samples containing 50–100 mg of fat were acid-digested with 8.3 M HCl and extracted with 12.5 mL of diethyl ether, followed by 12.5 mL of anhydrous petroleum ether. Fatty acids were methyl esterified using a 7% BF₃-methanol solution. 4. Fatty acid methyl esters were quantified by gas chromatography (YL 6500 GC, YL Instruments Co., Ltd., Anyang, South Korea) with flame ionization detection (FID) on a capillary GC column SP-2560 (100 m × 0.25 mm × 0.2 µm). Injection volume was 1.0 µL at 225 °C with a split ratio of 200:1. The oven program was held at 100 °C for 4 min, increased to 240 °C at 3 °C/min, and held for at least 15 min, using helium carrier gas at 0.75 mL/min. 5. Each fatty acid was quantified using conversion factors derived from 37 fatty acid methyl ester reference standards (carbon numbers 4–24), converting fatty acid methyl ester content to fatty acid content, expressed as g/100 g. This quantification step was performed by an external accredited testing laboratory, which supplied quantified per-sample values; raw instrumental chromatograms were not retained. 6. Relative fatty acid composition (% of total fatty acids) was calculated for each sample by dividing each fatty acid concentration by the sum of all quantified fatty acids for that sample. 7. Quantified absolute and normalized values were compiled in Microsoft Excel into four worksheets (Reference_Absolute, Reference_Normalized, Validation_Absolute, Validation_Normalized), with each row representing one fish sample annotated by sample ID, country of origin, sampling season, and sample role (reference/validation).

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Fish, Authentication, Fatty Acid

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