Abstract:
Objective This study aims to explore the impact of selective breeding on the nutritional quality of the muscles of Larimichthys crocea.
Methods A comparative analysis was conducted on the crude protein, crude fat, moisture, ash, amino acid composition, and fatty acid composition of muscles between the selectively bred F3 generation of L. crocea and the non-selected control group cultured under identical environmental conditions during the same period.
Results The results demonstrated that the crude protein content in the muscles of the selected F3-generation L. crocea was 16.80%±0.33%, which was higher than that of the control group. In contrast, the crude fat content (12.20%±0.12%) and moisture content (69.10%±0.69%) were lower, though these differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The content of total amino acid (TAA) and the content of delicious amino acids (DAA) in the muscles were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). The essential amino acid index (EAAI) reached 84.71%±0.86%, which was higher than that of the control group, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the muscle was 27.63%±0.63%, the content of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) was 12.79%±0.50%, the content of ∑n-3PUFA was 13.21%±0.44%, and the content of EPA+DHA was 11.70%±0.49%, all of which were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). The content of ∑n-6PUFA was 13.82%±0.95%, which was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion Improvement in the quality of L. crocea by carrying out population selection of L. crocea for the composite multiple traits of body size, body colour and fast growth rate increased TAA, DAA, PUFA, HUFA, ∑n-3PUFA and EPA+DHA contents in the muscles.