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.