Study on the nutritional quality of ecologically bred Chinese mitten crabs with different body weights

To provide basic nutritional data and theoretical support for the processing and comprehensive utilization of the Chinese mitten crab, we performed a systematic study of the nutritional components of three edible parts, namely the hepatopancreas, gonads and abdominal muscle, of three groups of animals differing in body mass: 75.55 +/- 1.56 g, 100.24 +/- 2.04 g and 162.27 +/- 3.44 g. The results showed that with a greater body mass, the water content was higher, the protein and ash contents were first higher and then lower, and the fat content was first lower and then higher. Amino acids (AAs), essential AAs (EAAs) and the EAA/AA ratio were first higher and then lower, all reaching the standard for high-quality protein. The most limiting AA was valine. The EAA index was greater than 97 for all three edible parts of the medium-sized crabs, indicating that crabs in this size group had very high nutritional value. The numbers of detected fatty acids were the same among the edible parts and the three size groups of the river crabs. Among the mineral elements measured, Ca, K and Na were the most abundant and showed a trend of first being higher and then being lower with a larger crab size. Although heavy metals were detected, the Cr, Pb and Cd levels were all within the permissible limits. Therefore, the nutritional quality of the three edible parts was greater for medium-sized river crabs than for small and large mitten crabs.