Sex- and season-based comparison of lipid and fatty acid profiles of blue crab meat

Effects of sex and harvesting season on the lipid and fatty acid profiles of the adult blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) muscle from Koycegiz Lagoon (Mugla, Turkey) were investigated using gas chromatography. Lipid contents of female samples were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than male samples for all season. The dominant fatty acids were eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5 n-3), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 n-3), oleic acid (C18:0) and palmitic acid (C16:0) for all samples. The n-6/n-3 ratio was higher in the male crab meat (0.49) than in the female crab meat (0.44) in autumn and winter season, respectively. Sum of n-3, n-6 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) level of male crab meat was higher than female blue crabs in all seasons. Sum of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) of all groups was found to be lower than the saturated fatty acids (SFA), which was significantly marked for male individuals during spring and summer season. Similarly, male crabs had high PUFA content in spring and summer while it was low in autumn and winter. Crab meat was found to be an appropriate source of n-3 fatty acids. The results of the study demonstrated that fatty acid profiles display significant differences depending on the sex of the crab.