Abstract:

The nutrients in muscle, skirt and fatty tissues from Florida soft-shell turtles, Apalone ferox with a body weight
of 600–700 g grown in greenhouse and imitative ecological farming conditions were determined. The results showed that
protein contents were significantly lower in muscle of the eco-farmed turtle but significantly higher in its skirt tissue than in
their respective counterparts in the greenhouse turtle (P < 0.05). Fat contents were low in leg muscles of both the eco-farmed
turtle and the greenhouse turtle, indicating that they are high protein and low fat foods. The contents of total amino acids
(TAA), essential amino acids (EAA), delicious amino acids (DAA) and pharmacodynamic amino acids (PAA) in muscle
of the eco-farmed turtle were lower than those in muscle of the green house turtle (P < 0.05). As for the skirt tissue, the
contents of DAA and PAA in the eco-farmed turtle were significantly higher than in the greenhouse turtle (P < 0.05). The
amounts of total fatty acids and total saturated fatty acids in muscle and the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in fatty
tissue of the eco-farmed turtle were significantly higher than those of the greenhouse turtle (P < 0.05). The contents of total
fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexenoic acid + docosapentaenoic acid in fatty
tissue of the greenhouse turtle were significantly higher than those of the eco-farmed turtle (P < 0.05). The amino acid score
and chemical score in muscle of the two kinds of turtle were close to or greater than 1, indicating that their nutrients are
relatively balanced and both of them contain high quality proteins.

Key words: Florida soft-shell turtle (Apalone ferox), imitative ecological farming, greenhouse, nutrients, amino acid, fatty acid