Proximate and Amino Acid Profiles of Chelipede Variants of Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium vollenhovenii) in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

The need for precise information on nutritional implications of novel strains of fish species necessitated the assessment of chelipede variants of Macrobrachium vollenhovenii, for proximate and amino acid content, for effective utilization in food and nutrition. Pooled fleshy tissue from 30 individuals each of the chelipede variants, being individuals possessing equal length of left and right sides, longer left sides and shorter left sides chelipede representing EA(novel), LL(novel) and SL(erstwhile), of differing allozyme marker (12.5% SDSPAGE) fingerprints were characterized for proximate values (dry matter-DM, crude protein-CP, crude fibre-CF, ether extract-EE, ash-AC, Nitrogen free extract-NFE and profile of essential amino acids-EAA and non-essential amino acids-NEAA following standard laboratory procedures. Values across variants were compared for significant differences at p<0.05. Significantly, CP, EE, AC and NFE varied at 78.08±3.56%-LL to 81.83±0.94%-EA, 8.70±0.28%-LL to 9.84±0.23%-SL, 2.91±0.12%-SL to 3.10±0.29%-EA, and 1.42±0.09%-EA to 3.68±0.02%-LL respectively. Total NEAA was between 45.76±3.25mg/g(LL) and 47.32±1.26mg/g(EA); Cysteine-LL (1.34±0.05mg/g) was lowest; Glutamate-EA (14.46±0.07mg/g) was highest. Total EAA ranged from 44.09±0.90mg/g(LL) to 48.71±1.07mg/g(EA); Tryptophan-EA(1.11±0.05mg/g) was lowest; Lysine-EA(9.72±0.06mg/g) was highest. The variants possessed tissues of desirable nutritional quality. Variant EA was superior in protein, mineral/ash, total NEAA and EAA, while SL and LL were superior in oil and carbohydrate (NFE) content respectively. Cognizance of the superior attributes of each variant would facilitate their optimum utilization for food and nutrition.