Comparison of methods in the recovery and amplificability of DNA from fresh and processed sardine and anchovy muscle tissues

► Six methods for DNA extraction from fresh/processed sardine and anchovy were used. ► Matrices with high degree of processing yielded the lowest DNA amounts. ► Short primers (252 bp) amplified the cytb fragment for all samples and methods. ► Two main PCA described the sardine and anchovy PCR (70% and 69% of all variance). ► The SDS/PCI method is a good choice for highly processed sardine/anchovy foodstuffs.