Lipid Composition of Oil Extracted from Wasted Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) Heads and Comparison with Oil Extracted from Antarctic Krill (Euphasia superba)

Abstract

Abstract:In the UK, the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) supports its most important shellfish fishery. Nephrops are sold either whole, or as "tails-only" for the scampi trade. In the "tailing" process, the "head" (cephalothorax) is discarded as waste. A smaller crustacean species, the Antarctic krill Euphasia superba, represents an economically valuable industry, as its extractable oil is sold as a human dietary supplement. The aim of this study was to determine the amount and composition of the oil contained in discarded Nephrops heads and to compare its composition to the oil extracted from krill. Differences due to Geographical variation and seasonal patterns in the amount and composition of lipid were also noted. Results indicated that Nephrops head waste samples collected from more southern locations in Scotland (Clyde Sea area) contained higher levels of oil when compared to samples collected from northern locations in Iceland. Moreover, seasonal differences within the Clyde Sea area in Scotland were also observed, with oil extracted from Nephrops head waste peaking at around 11.5% during the summer months when larger and more mature females were caught by trawl. At this time of the year, the valuable fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) accounted for around 23% of the total fatty acid content in oil extracted from Nephrops head waste. A seasonal effect on EPA content was found, with higher levels obtained in the summer, while no trend was found in DHA percentages. Finally, oil from Nephrops head waste contained a higher proportion of EPA and DHA than krill oil but these fatty acids were more abundantly linked to the neutral lipids rather to than polar lipids. The characterization of lipid that could be extracted from Nephrops head waste should be seen as a first step for the commercial use of a valuable resource currently wasted. This approach is extremely relevant given the current limited supply of EPA and DHA and changes in the Common Fisheries Policy.

Lobster processing by-products as valuable bioresource of marine functional ingredients, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals

“…However, the amounts of PUFAs and ω-3 fatty acids were significantly higher (22.6 vs 31.3%, 50.8 vs 58%) when lipids were recovered from lobster livers using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) extraction technique (Nguyen et al 2015 ). Richness of PUFAs and ω-3 fatty acids in lobster lipids is comparable to that of menhaden lipids (Tsvetnenko et al 1996 ) or even higher than that of krill lipids (Albalat et al 2016 ). Particularly, lobster lipids also contain carotenoids and astaxanthin with concentrations of 70.4 and 41.6 μg/mL, respectively (Nguyen 2017 ).…”

“…Lobster liver is another lipid-rich part of lobster with the lipid content of which is up to 24.3% (Nguyen et al 2015 ). Among crustaceans, LPBs contain more lipids than crab and shrimp by-products, while this value is comparable to that of krill being used for lipid production (Albalat et al 2016 ). Lobster lipids are rich in PUFAs and ω-3 fatty acids as reported in the study of Tsvetnenko et al ( 1996 ): lipids extracted from lobster cephalothorax contained 22.6% of fatty acids in which ω-3 fatty acids accounted for 50.8%.…”

“…Cephalothorax, a by-product generated from lobster processing industry, is one of the lipid-rich parts of lobster with various lipid contents depending on lobster habitat, season, and species. In summer season, Norway lobster cephalothorax has the highest lipid content with a value of 11.5% (Albalat et al 2016 ). Cephalothorax of Norway lobster contains lower lipid content than that of Australian lobster which accounts for up to 19.4% (Tsvetnenko et al 1996 ).…”

“…By this reason, fish oils have been used for enriching DHA and EPA of many food products such as powder milk formulate, salad oil, fruit beverage, vegetable juice (Kolanowski and Berger 1999 ), dairy products (Kolanowski and Weißbrodt 2007 ), soft goat cheese (Hughes et al 2012 ), or cookies (Jeyakumari et al 2016 ). Lobster oils have a potential use as a source of natural ω-3 fatty acids for many fortified products since they have been demonstrated to contain PUFAs and ω-3 fatty acids as high as that of fish oil (menhaden) or krill oils (Albalat et al 2016 ; Tsvetnenko et al 1996 ). Moreover, higher bioavailability of fatty acids derived from crustacean oils compared to those of fish oils (Köhler et al 2015 ) together with the antioxidant superior of crustacean oils provided by carotenoids make them ideal for application as a novel and beneficial food ingredient (Tetens 2009 ) or as oil supplement (Köhler et al 2015 ).…”

Innovative Non-Thermal Technologies for Recovery and Valorization of Value-Added Products from Crustacean Processing By-Products—An Opportunity for a Circular Economy Approach

“…Lipid content in crustacean by-products may be variable depending on the species, the fishery’s geographical location, and the kind of by-products. Recently, Albalat et al [ 33 ] showed that oil recovered from the head waste of the Norway Lobster ( Nephrops norvegicus ) contains a higher proportion of EPA and DHA (15.0% and 8.3% of total neutral lipids, respectively, than krill oil (4.3% of EPA and 2.3% of DHA)). However, the content and profile of the recovered lipid are subjected to considerable variations according to the geographic location of the fishery and the seasonality.…”