The great variation found in the n ) 6/n ) 3 ratios for the sardines canned in soybean oil (0.73–2.17) and in tomato sauce (0.18–0.54) can possibly be related to the amounts of coating oil used during the processing. Considering the studied components, the brand P showed the greatest differences, illustrating the
different canning processes of the brands. Some freshwater fish from the south of Brazil, such as Carpa (Cyprinus carpio), Pacu (Colossoma mitrei) and Tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus), present n ) 6/n ) 3 ratio values of 4.54, 4.35 and 2.38, respectively, which are higher found in this work (Andrade et al., 1995).