Abstract
The lipid and fatty acid compositions of two species of gastropods, Aplysia kurodai and Aplysia juliana (collected from shallow sea water), were examined to assess their lipid profiles, health benefits, and the trophic relationships between herbivorous gastropods and their diets. The primary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) found in the neutral lipids of all gastropod organs consisted of four shorter chain n-3 PUFAs: linolenic acid (LN, 18:3n-3), icosatetraenoic acid (ITA, 20:4n-3), icosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n3), and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3). The PUFAs found in polar lipids were various n-3 and n-6 PUFAs: arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6), adrenic acid (docosatetraenoic acid, DTA, 22:4n-6), icosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3), and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) in addition to trace levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3). Various n-3 and n-6 PUFAs (18:2n-6, 20:2n-6, 18:3n-6, 20:3n-6, 18:3n-3, 18:4n-3, 20:3n-3, n-3 ITA, and 22:3n-6,9,15) comprised the biosynthetic profiles of A. kurodai and A. juliana. Both Aplysia species have traditionally been eaten as local foods in Japan, and the high levels of n-3 (EPA and n-3 DPA) and n-6 (ARA and DTA) PUFAs indicate that they are a healthful addition to a human’s diet.
