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Analysis of Nutritional Composition of Edible Parts of Cultellus attenuatus Dunker

XU Jia-tao,XU Guo-cheng,XU Xing-hong,YAN Bin-lun,ZHOU Hua-shan   

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Jiangsu Province, Huaihai Institute of Technology, Lianyungang 222005, China
  • Online:2013-09-15 Published:2013-09-27
  • Contact: XU Jia-tao

Abstract:

The nutritional composition of edible parts of Cultellus attenuatus Dunker grown in Haizhou bay was
investigated and compared with other razor clams. The results showed that the yield of edible parts of Cultellus attenuatus
Dunker was 57.58 %, and the contents of moisture, crude protein, crude fat and crude ash in fresh edible parts of C.
attenuatus were 83.01%, 10.83%, 1.17% and 2.03%, respectively. A total of 17 types of amino acids were detected in the
edible parts of C. attenuatus. In dry samples, the total content of amino acids was 54.10%. Among them, the contents of
essential amino acids, half-essential amino acids, nonessential amino acids and delicious amino acids were 19.46%, 7.61%,
27.03% and 24.97%, respectively. The ratio of total essential amino acids to total amino acids was 35.97%, and the ratio of
total essential amino acids to total nonessential amino acids was 71.99%. This amino acid composition met the FAO/WHO
standards for high quality protein. According to nutritional evaluation based on amino acid score and chemical score, the
first limiting amino acid was Met + Cys and the second limiting amino acid was Val. The essential amino acid index was
66.83, which was much higher than that reported for Novaculina Chinensis (36.87). The ratio of branch-chain amino acids
to aromatic amino acids was 1.88, which was lower than that of other razor clams. A toal of 27 types of common fatty acids
were found in the edible parts of C. attenuatus, including 8 saturated fatty acids (SFAs), 9 mono-unsaturated fatty acids
(MUFAs) and 10 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The contents of SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs were 32.72%, 30.80%
and 36.48%, respectively. In the PUFAs, the content of ω-3PUFAs was much higher than that of ω-6PUFA, and the content
of EPA and DHA was 71.22%. In conclusion, this investigation indicates that C. attenuatus has high nutritional value and
health benefits.

Key words: Cultellus attenuatus Dunker, edible part, nutritional composition, amino acids, fatty acids, nutritional evaluation

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