Fatty acid composition in common deep-water shrimps of the Arabian Sea and its importance to human nutrition

Abstract

AbstractDeep-water shrimps are recognized as non-conventional culinary delicacies owing to the presence of high-quality polyunsaturated fatty acids, even though they remain one of the predominantly unexplored marine fishery resources. In this study, variation of fatty acid profiles of Aristeus alcocki, Solenocera choprai, Heterocarpus chani and Plesionika quasigrandis, caught along the south-west coast of India (Arabian Sea) during the months spanning from September 2018–April 2019, were compared. Among the deep-water shrimps studied, A. alcocki contained a greater amount of n-3 fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acid along with optimal n-3/n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios beneficial for human nutrition (up to 8 during the winter months) when compared with other shrimps. In general, fatty acid concentrations exhibited variations, particularly with regard to polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. These n-3 fatty acids were predominant during December–February of the studied year, but concentrations were noticeably lower during March and April. Females had considerably higher (P < 0.05) C20–22n-3 fatty acid concentrations along with nutritionally balanced polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio than males. Results of the two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed statistically significant differences in the fatty acid profiles between the species and months. The interaction effects of months with species were also highly significant (Wilk's lambda = 0.000001; F = 187.7, P < 0.0001). Lesser atherogenicity (<3) and thrombogenicity (<0.5) indices coupled with considerably greater n-3/n-6 fatty acid ratios recognized these deep-water species as a possible source of highly nutritional human food.