Nutritional qualities of normal and precocious adult male Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis)

Abstract

The nutritional values of edible gonad, hepatopancreas and muscle tissues from normal and precocious adult male Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) were investigated herein. The results showed that the average weight and meat yield (MY) of normal crabs were significantly higher than those of precocious crabs, while the hepatopancreas indexes (HSI) and gonadosomatic indexes (GSI) had no significant differences. Precocious and normal crabs had greater protein and lipid contents, respectively, and the differences were mainly reflected in gonads and hepatopancreas. While assessing the amino acid profiles, both precocious and normal crabs could be high‐quality protein sources, particularly the precocious crabs which showed higher levels of essential amino acids. In fatty acid profiling experiments, precocious crabs revealed higher EPA, ∑n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and ∑n‐3/∑n‐6 ratios than normal crabs; however, DHA and ∑n‐6 PUFA contents were considerably lower. Additionally, contents of nutritious minerals K and Ca in precocious crabs were significantly higher than those in normal crabs, while Zn and Fe were significantly lower. In short, our data indicated that precocious Chinese mitten crabs are also a nutritious food, and even in some respects their nutritional value is higher than normal crabs.

Quality characteristics of shucked crab meat ( Eriocheir sinensis ) processed by high pressure during superchilled storage

“…E. sinensis is a highly seasonal aquatic organism and intensively harvested between the autumn and winter seasons. Its market price is severely affected by the crab size (weight), thus the crab with smaller size usually has a lower market value (Wu et al., 2019). Precocious crabs are an important type of small‐size crabs, which are widespread in aquaculture, and accounting for about 15 to 30% of the total population (Liang et al., 2020).…”

“…Precocious crabs are an important type of small‐size crabs, which are widespread in aquaculture, and accounting for about 15 to 30% of the total population (Liang et al., 2020). These low‐value crabs have resulted in an obvious economic loss to the crab industry, especially for the crab farmers, though their nutritional value including the EPA, ∑ n −3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and ∑ n −3/∑ n −6 ratios was proved to be higher than the normal crabs (Wu et al., 2019). Consequently, vigorously developing the deep‐processing technology and the related value‐added products has become an urgent task to promote the healthy development of mitten crab industry.…”

Quality and microbial community of high pressure shucked crab ( Eriocheir sinensis ) meat stored at 4°C

“…The crab with large size (weight) is usually marketed as live state (Wang et al., 2018), while the small‐size crab is mainly processed into shucked‐picked meats due to its low market value (Wu, Ge, et al., 2019). Among the small‐size crabs, precocious crabs are an important type, accounting for about 15%~30% of the total population.…”

Effect of different sterilization methods on sensory quality and volatile flavor of flavor crab meat sauce

“…Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is an important freshwater aquaculture economic crab, which is widely distributed in coastal areas, rivers, and lakes in China (Cheng et al, 2008;Wu et al, 2019a). Crab meat is a high-protein and low-fat food, which is delicious, popular among consumers, and has high nutritional value (Chen and Zhang, 2007;Gu et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2016Wang et al, , 2018.…”