Effects of feed protein and lipid contents on fatty acid profile of snail (Helix aspersa maxima) meat

The purpose of the present work is to verify the influence of different feed protein and lipid contents on the proximate composition on the fatty acid profile of snail meat (Helix aspersa maxima). The predominant fatty acids were palmitic (16.0), estearic (18:0), oleic (18:1 n-9), linoleic (18:2 n-6), mead (20:3 n-9), and arachidonic (20:4 n-6) acids. The reason of interest is that snail meat has n-6 and n-3 fatty acids with a chain length of 22 carbons (as 22:4 n6, 22:5 n6 and 22:5 n3). The results of this work revealed that snail meat (H. aspersa maxima) is a protein source with low lipid content that has with essential fatty acids in its composition (linoleic and linolenic acids) and polyunsaturated fatty acids with more than 20 C atoms, indicating that this food can be used for patient nutrition irrespective of total lipid content.