effect of drying in the open air and plastic sheets on the nutritional value of two fish species of spyraena forsteri and spyraena jello

drying is one of the methods of food preservation with long-term. these processes increase the shelf life and ability for using them, because of taking water. the study had two treatments that include sphyraena jello and sphyraena forsteri. the first and second parts were put in the open air and in a plastic sheets respectively, so that the ground was 60 cm distance and allow to dry. fish were dried so that were put in the open air for 5 days. second part also were dried for 8 days and then samples were powdered and packaged. samples were transferred to the laboratory for analysis of protein, fat, ash, moisture, carbohydrates and energy with aoac standard methods. the results showed that the amount of fat in fish dried spyraena jello in the open air and the plastic sheets found 5/98+0.02 and 5/72+0.22, protein content were 58/31+0.31 and 61/03+0.04, ash content found 14/35+0.35 and 15/01+0.01, and energetic values found 385/59 and 398/46 kcal respectively. the results also showed that the amount of fat in fish of dried spyraena forsteri in the open air and the plastic sheets found 3+0/32 and 4+0/32, protein content found 61/90+0.24 and 61/16+0.24, ash content found 20/80+0.0015 and 24/85+0.0015, and energetic values found 377/50 and 382/84 kcal respectively. we concluded that the open air for fish drying was faster, but in plastic method, fish nutrients, such as fat, ash, moisture and protein, were preserved better.