The carotenoid characteristics of the important wild shrimp Trachysalambria curvirostris (Stimpson, 1860) in China

Abstract

Trachysalambria curvirostris is an economically important shrimp in the coastal waters of the Western Indo-Pacific. However, there is no information about its carotenoid composition and distribution. The carotenoid profiles including concentration, composition, molecular forms (free or esterified) and configuration (geometrical and optical isomers) of raw and dried Trachysalambria curvirostris (Stimpson, 1860) were qualitatively and quantitatively assessed. In the raw shrimp, astaxanthin and β-carotene were the two dominant carotenoids, which contributed 75.18%–88.86% and 2.86%–16.83% of the total carotenoid content. Traces of echinenone, canthaxanthin and astacene were also detected. The carotenoid content in the waste (80.28 mg/kg dry weight) was nearly two-fold higher than that in the meat (49.69 mg/kg dry weight). Of the total astaxanthin in these shrimp, 85.18%–90.59% was esterified. All- trans astaxanthin was the predominant geometrical isomer followed by 13- cis, 9- cis, di- cis and 15- cis isomers. A mix of three stereoisomers was found in all parts and the percentages of meso (3 S, 3’ R ) and (3 S, 3’ S ) forms were significantly higher than the (3 R, 3’ R ) isomer. Compared to the carotenoid content of the raw shrimp, only 26.17 mg/kg remained in the dried shrimp. Nearly half of the carotenoids were lost during the drying process. Substantial hydrolysis and isomerization also occurred.