Proximate Composition and Amino Acid Profile of the Edible Muscle of European Crayfish Astacus astacus L. Inhabiting the Orchomenos Region in Central Greece

Research Article

Austin J Nutri Food Sci. 2021; 9(1): 1152.

Proximate Composition and Amino Acid Profile of the Edible Muscle of European Crayfish Astacus astacus L. Inhabiting the Orchomenos Region in Central Greece

Papachristou E1, Tyrpenou AE2, Kastritsi-Katharios I3 and Kotzamanis Y4*

1Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

2Hellenic Agricultural Organization “DIMITRA” (former NAGREF), Veterinary Research Institute, Thessaloniki, Greece

3Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Greece

4Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Fish Nutrition Lab, 46.7 km Athens-Sounion Avenue Anavyssos, Attiki 19013, Greece

*Corresponding author: Kotzamanis Y, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Fish Nutrition Lab, 46.7 km Athens-Sounion Avenue Anavyssos, Attiki 19013, Greece

Received: April 09, 2021; Accepted: April 26, 2021; Published: May 03, 2021

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the proximate composition and amino acid profile of the edible muscle of European crayfish Astacus astacus L. Animals were collected from Orchomenos region in Central Greece and muscle tissue samples were collected for chemical analysis. Total crude protein and crude lipid content of muscle tissues were determined using the Kjeldahl method and Folch’s procedure, respectively. Amino acids profile was performed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatographic (UPLC) determination of the acid hydrolysed muscle extract after derivatization with AccQ-Tag reagent (Waters, USA). The results showed that protein and lipid content of crayfish muscle tissue were 16.55 ± 0.4 g 100 g-1 and 0.52 ± 0.20 g 100 g-1, respectively. Also, the moisture and ash content were 80.93 ± 0.36 g 100 g-1 and 1.25 ± 0.14 g 100 g-1, respectively. Amino acids analysis of muscle tissue revealed that the highest values were those of glutamic acid (2.98 g 100 g-1) and arginine (2.19 g 100g-1) as well as those for aspartic acid (1.88 g 100 g-1), lysine (1.47 g 100 g-1) and leucine (1.33 g 100 g-1). The lowest values were found for histidine (0.35 ± 0.03 g 100 g-1) and methionine (0.47 ± 0.01 g 100 g-1). The results of this study showed that the crayfish of Orchomenos region can be considered as an important source of essential nutrients in the human diet due to its protein and essential amino acids content, which are relatively comparable to those of farmed sea bream (Sparus aurata L.), as well as to farmed and wild sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). However, the lipid content of Orchomenos crayfish was found to be insignificant and negligible. Overall, the protein quality of European crayfish can be considered as a main factor in selecting this species as a candidate species for European aquaculture diversification.

Keywords: Crayfish; Astacus astacus; Protein; Amino acids; Fat; Nutritional value

Introduction

The European crayfish Astacus astacus L. (Figure 1) is a species which is very common and popular in many European countries and specifically in Greece. Particularly, it is found in 28 European countries and outside Europe it can be found only in Morocco. European crayfish or Noble crayfish (Astacus astacus L.) is one of the few species of freshwater crustaceans that have been used for commercial purposes and as human food for a long time [1,2].