Nutritional Qualities of the Low-Value Bivalve Mollusks Paphia malabarica and Villorita cyprinoides at the Estuarine Waters of the Southwestern Coast of India
2017
Joy, Minju | Chakraborty, Kajal
The bivalve mollusks Paphia malabarica and Villorita cyprinoides collected from the estuarine system located in the southwest coastal waters of India were evaluated for their nutritional composition. A balanced essential to nonessential amino acid ratio (> 1.0) with a greater quantity of sulfur-containing amino acids in these species demonstrated that they could provide well-balanced protein depositions. The n -3/ n -6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio in P. malabarica was found to be greater than 2, and, therefore, can be considered as a healthy diet. The C ₂₀–C ₂₂ long-chain polyunsaturated n -3 fatty acids (for example, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) accounted for more than 23% of the total fatty acid content in P. malabarica as compared to about 7% in V. cyprinoides. P. malabarica showed greater hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (1.7) and lesser atherogenicity (0.7), thrombogenicity (0.3) indices when contrasted with those in V. cyprinoides , thereby indicating the nutritional superiority of the former. A greater content of vitamin D ₃ (> 150 IU), along with significant quantities of calcium and phosphorus (> 500 mg/100 g) in the clams, signified their importance in preventing osteoporosis. This study demonstrated the importance of bivalves, in particular, P. malabarica as a valued species for human consumption.
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