Comparison of nutritional quality of three edible tissues of the wild-caught and pond-reared swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) females

- Differences in nutritional quality of edible tissues were detected between wild and reared swimming crabs.
- Ratio of n-3/n-6 fatty acid of wild crab was significantly lower than that of reared crab (P < 0.05).
- Contents of most amino acids (Gly excluded) of reared crab are higher than those of wild crab.
- Content of As in wild crab has seriously exceeded the standard of food safety.
- Reared swimming crab is thought to have a higher nutritious value compared to the wild one.

The nutritional values of three edible tissues (i.e. hepatopancreas, ovary and muscle) of both wild-caught and pond-reared swimming crab females were investigated and compared. Contents of moisture, total lipid and carbohydrate were higher in both hepatopancreas and ovary of wild-caught crab than in these two tissues of pond-reared crab while content of protein was significantly lower; moisture content of muscle in the wild-caught crab was significantly higher than in the pond-reared crab with other contents comparable. For fatty acid profile, wild-caught crab's hepatopancreas had more ΣSFA, ΣPUFA, Σn-3PUFA, Σn-6PUFA and ΣHUFA but less ΣMUFA than the pond-reared crab's; moreover, both ovary and muscle of wild-caught crab contained significantly higher ΣSFA but lower ΣMUFA, ΣPUFA and ΣHUFA. For amino acid profile, contents of seventeen types of amino acids (Gly excluded) were all lower in wild-caught crab than in pond-reared crab, including EAA, NEAA and TAA. Additionally, contents of most nutritious minerals in wild-caught crab were higher than those in pond-reared crab; but notably, toxic mineral contents were also detected to be far higher in the former, especially Cu, Cd and As. To summarize, the pond-reared swimming crab female is thought to have a higher nutritious value for healthy diets.