Nutritional Value and Contaminant Risk Assessment of Some Commercially Important Fishes and Crawfish of Lake Trasimeno, Italy.

Raffaella Branciari,Arianna Piersanti,Naceur Haouet,Marisa Framboas,Rossana Roila,Ivan Pecorelli,Raffaella Franceschini,Andrea Valiani,David Ranucci

doi:10.3390/ijerph17072545

Abstract

The aim of our study was to describe the balance between health benefits and risks associated with the consumption of crawfish and nine fish species from lake Trasimeno. We thus determined both fatty acid profiles (particularly, eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids) and chemical pollutants (some polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, and heavy metals) in fish muscle tissues. The contents of all fatty acids varied significantly among species. Sand smelt, carp, and tench, which have a high fat content, contained considerable amounts of EPA and DHA; lean fish, like perch, pike, and largemouth bass, which have relatively high percentages of the predominant n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, showed lower amounts of these fatty acids because of their low lipid contents. Some species contributed strongly to the Dietary Reference Intake (RDI) of EPA and DHA. The contribution of lean fish to the RDI of EPA and DHA was more limited. The concentrations of all contaminants in fish muscle tissues were lower than the regulatory limits, demonstrating the safety of the environmental conditions of the lake. The contribution to health-based reference values and benefit–risk quotients indicated that the health benefits of consumption of fish from lake Trasimeno outweigh the potential risks.

Highlights

The nutritional benefits of fish consumption are attributable to the high-value proteins and unsaturated fatty acids, as well as certain minerals and vitamins, contained in fish
The representative phytoplankton community is characterized by seasonal fluctuations and is represented in winter by Hyaloraphidium contortum and Scenedesmus ecornis, belonging to the Cloroficeee Family, and Leptolyngbya spp., a member of the Cyanoficee Family, whereas in summer, the phytoplankton is almost exclusively represented by Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Cyanoficee) [15]
Black bullhead, large-mouth bass, pike, and golden fish are classified in the category of lean fish, as are crawfish lean meat (LM), whereas tench is regarded as a low-fat fish (LFF) (2%–4% fat)

Summary

Introduction

The nutritional benefits of fish consumption are attributable to the high-value proteins and unsaturated fatty acids, as well as certain minerals and vitamins, contained in fish. Fish are considered a very important source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially eicosapentaenoic (EPA, C 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (DHA, C 22:6n-3) [1,2]. Several clinical studies have demonstrated the relationship between n-3 PUFA intake and both the maintenance of physiological functions (optimal cardiovascular system, brain and vision functioning) and the prevention of certain health conditions (coronary artery disease and cancer), as well as the positive effects of n-3 PUFA consumption on some diseases (arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus) [3,4]. It is generally recognized that freshwater fish meat generally contains lower proportions of C 20,. Public Health 2020, 17, 2545; doi:10.3390/ijerph17072545 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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