Comparison of nutritional quality of three edible tissues of the wild-caught and pond-reared swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) females

The nutritional values of three edible tissues (i.e. hepatopancreas, ovary and muscle) of both wild-caught and pond-reared swimming crab females were investigated and compared. Contents of moisture, total lipid and carbohydrate were higher in both hepatopancreas and ovary of wild-caught crab than in these two tissues of pond-reared crab while content of protein was significantly lower; moisture content of muscle in the wild-caught crab was significantly higher than in the pond-reared crab with other contents comparable. For fatty acid profile, wild-caught crab's hepatopancreas had more Sigma SFA, Sigma PUFA, Sigma n-3PUFA, Sigma n-6PUFA and Sigma HUFA but less Sigma MUFA than the pond-reared crab's; moreover, both ovary and muscle of wild-caught crab contained significantly higher Sigma SFA but lower Sigma MUFA, Sigma PUFA and Sigma HUFA. For amino acid profile, contents of seventeen types of amino acids (Gly excluded) were all lower in wild-caught crab than in pond-reared crab, including EAA, NEAA and TAA. Additionally, contents of most nutritious minerals in wild-caught crab were higher than those in pond-reared crab; but notably, toxic mineral contents were also detected to be far higher in the former, especially Cu, Cd and As. To summarize, the pond-reared swimming crab female is thought to have a higher nutritious value for healthy diets. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.