Proximal analysis is one of the important techniques used to determine the chemical-structural characteristics and the nutritional composition of a food and the determination of the proximal composition of a certain species of fish is a very important factor . The aim of this study was to evaluate the bromatological and nutritional characteristics of Leporinus agassizi and Leporinus fasciatus fish fillet, and how they are influenced under the effects of hydrological inflows in the Vaupés river at Colombia. Three different points of the Vaupés River (A, B, C) were sampled according to the availability of animals indicated by the indigenous communities , during a hydrological cycle. Sixty fish were collected and their fillets were bromatologically analyzed under the methodology proposed by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC-2007 ) with modifications. The bromatological values of each species were correlated with the time of year and the site of capture. Although the values of dry matter, protein, ashes and lipids for the two species did not present significant differences (p>0.05) when compared with the site and time of capture, there are some variations. At sampling the point C and during the descending water period, L . agassizi had the highest values for dry matter (25.24%), protein (19.82%) and ash (2.16%). The highest lipid value for this species was found in low waters of point A (2.93%). L. fasciatus in turn presented the highest levels of dry matter (25.19%) and ash (2.16 %) at point C during ascending an d high waters respectively. The highest protein content for this species was found in the point A in ascending waters (18.08%) and the highest lipid content (1.44%) in point B low waters. After, was performed a Pearson correlation. There is a significant correlation for dry matter/moisture, dry matter/protein, dry matter/ash and ash/protein parameters for L. agassizi and dry matter/moisture, dry matter/protein, dry matter/ash and dry matter/fat parameters for L. fasciatus . It could be established that bromatological characteristics of the species L. agassizi and L. fasciatus are very similar to those of other well-known fish species, and even species that live in similar environmental conditions. Both L. agassizi and L. fasciatus present values within the ranges of macronutrients found in other species consumed in Colombia, such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), red tilapia (Oreochromis sp), Cachama (Colossoma macropomum), Bocachico (Prochilodus reticulatus magdalenae ) and Bagre or catfish (Pseudoplatystoma faciatum ), which makes them a source of similar nutritional contribution. This study achieved for the first time the bromatological analysis of one Amazonian fish species in Colombia. The bromatological analysis carried out on fillets of Leporinus species tends to vary reagarding the time of year; h owever, with the percentages of protein and lipids obtained, it can be determined that the species has a great potential for continental aquaculture, thus constituting a healthy food species.
Acknoledgment: To the Government of Vaupés through the financing by the Sistema General de Regalías (Special Cooperation Agreement 0032 of 2013) and the Universidad de los Llanos for co-financing.