Comparison of Body Characteristics, Carotenoid Composition, and Nutritional Quality of Chinese Mitten Crab (<i>Eriocheir sinensis</i>) with Different Hepatopancreas Redness
Honghui Guo,
Jingang Zhang,
Yidi Wu,
Xiangzhong Luo,
Zhiqiang Xu,
Jianlin Pan,
Guiwei Zou,
Hongwei Liang
Affiliations
Honghui Guo
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
Jingang Zhang
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
Yidi Wu
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
Xiangzhong Luo
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
Zhiqiang Xu
Key Laboratory of Freshwater Crustacean Genetic Breeding and Cultivation (Co-Construction by Ministry and Province) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Institute of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210017, China
Jianlin Pan
Key Laboratory of Freshwater Crustacean Genetic Breeding and Cultivation (Co-Construction by Ministry and Province) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Institute of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210017, China
Guiwei Zou
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
Hongwei Liang
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
In this study, we investigated the body characteristics, carotenoid composition, and nutritional quality of Eriocheir sinensis with different hepatopancreas redness (a*). We distributed the crabs into two groups based on the hepatopancreas a* values and compared their body characteristics, chroma, carotenoid composition, and protein, lipid, total sugar, amino acid, and fatty acid content via paired t-test. The results revealed that the relationships between hepatopancreas a* values and crab quality are sex specific. In female crabs, the differences in nutritional characteristics were evident mainly in the hepatopancreases and ovaries. In the redder hepatopancreases, the content of zeaxanthin and β-carotene increased, and the levels of C22:6n3 and C20:5n3 decreased (p p a* and amino acid and fatty acid content. The content of leucine, arginine, and total umami amino acids in muscles and of unsaturated fatty acids and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in hepatopancreases and testicles increased with increasing hepatopancreas a* values (p < 0.05). Therefore, the redder the hepatopancreas, the higher the nutritional quality of male crabs.
