Nutrient Compositions Of Adductor Muscle from the Pearl Oysters Pinctada maxima and Pinctada margaritifera

ABSTRACT Adductor muscle from Pinctada maxima and Pinctada margaritifera were analyzed for nutrient compositions. Both were characterized by relatively high-protein, low-lipid, and low-cholesterol contents. Palmitic acid and docosahexaenoic acid were the dominant saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively, in both species. Amino acid compositions of adductor muscle from both species were characterized by a high abundance of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and arginine, whereas cysteine, then tryptophan, were least abundant. Overall, these nutrient compositions are similar to those reported for other bivalve molluscs. The results are timely given the growing interest in pearl meat consumption and pearl meat farming.