Extraction of virgin deep-sea fish oil (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum and Ruvettus pretiosus) and their potential as immunostimulants

Escolar ( Lepidocybium flavobrunneum ) and oilfish ( Ruvettus pretiosus ) are by-catches of tuna and classified as deep-sea fish that are able to occupy a depth of 200 meters under ocean level. These fish are able to be used as a fount of fish oil (FO) production due to their high fat content, up to 13.30%. This research objectives to determine fat content, oil yield, fatty acid (FA) profiles, oxidation parameters, and the potential of deep-sea FO as immunostimulants agent by in vitro method. The research method employed was wet lab-based, encompassing the extraction of deep-sea fish oil using the wet rendering method at a temperature of 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C for 1 hour utilizing a water bath. The extracted oil yield was quantified, and its potential as an immunostimulant was identified through an in vitro MTT assay. The dominant FA in escolar and oilfish were oleic acid (C18:1n-9c) 26.85% (w/w) and 23.02% (w/w), respectively. Splenocyte proliferation activity showed that oilfish and escolar FO were able to raise splenocyte proliferation, so they got the potential to act as immunostimulants.