Abstract:This study investigated the effects of different light sources （no light，white light，violet light，green light and red light） on the lipid oxidation of dried large yellow croaker that had been dried using hot air at 50 ℃. The extent of lipid degradation in the samples was assessed by analysing acid value，peroxide value，conjugated diene value，thiobarbituric acid reactive substances （TBARS） value，iodine value，fatty acid composition and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that treatment with short-wavelength violet light significantly promoted the oxidative degradation of lipids，with acid value，peroxide value，conjugated diene value and TBARS value all reaching their highest levels；simultaneously，the iodine value decreased significantly and polyunsaturated fatty acids were depleted to a large extent，whilst Fourier transform infrared spectra further confirmed the cleavage of carbon-carbon double bonds and the accumulation of secondary oxidation products. The degree of lipid oxidation in the no-light group was second only to that of the violet light group，indicating that heat induction triggers significant spontaneous lipid oxidation. The white light and green light groups exhibited varying degrees of mitigation of lipid oxidation. In comparison，the dried large yellow croaker treated with long-wavelength red light demonstrated superior lipid antioxidant potential，with the lowest levels of primary and secondary oxidative metabolites;it effectively retained a high iodine value and abundance of polyunsaturated fatty acids，whilst maintaining the relative integrity of the lipid molecular backbone. In summary，illumination with light sources of different wavelengths exerts differential regulatory effects on the oxidative degradation of lipids in dried large yellow croaker. This study provides a theoretical basis at the macromolecular level for quality control in the light-assisted processing of dried large yellow croaker.