The wide range of cholesterol values given in the literature for LO&J pealei and Illex iflecebrosus is confusing to people who arc designing low cholesterol diets for health purposes. These species were analyzed for proximate composition, fatty acid content, and cholesterol content in order to provide information to consumers and health care profcssionals. A sampling of both species of squid over a 2-yr period rcvealed that cholesterol values ranged from about 110 mg up to 450 mg/lOOg raw tissue with no apparent correlation with season or location of catch. The wide range of values, thercforc, seems to reflect natural occurences.Omega-3 fatty acids make up over 50% of the total fatty acids, but these squid, because they are low in fat (about lS%), contribute only about OSg of these fatty acids per IOOg in the diet.

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RESULTS & DISCUSSIONLipid, cholesterol, and fatty acid data were determined for six species of fish caught off the coast of Massachusetts on several sampling dates. The fattier fish (7 5% fat) had low calculated levels of cholesterol per gram of fat (2-14 mg/g). However, low levels of cholesterol in edible flesh (50 mg/lOOg) amounted to large amounts of cholesterol per gram fat (17-70 mg/g) for lean fish (~5% fat). Wide fluctuations in fat content of the fatty species were paralleled by changes in fatty acid composition. All species would yield about 35% 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) if the 20-carbon monoenes were removed.