Seasonal changes in the contents of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5ω3)-containing triglycerides from the hepatopancreas of the scallop Patinopecten yessoensis were investigated.
The content of hepatopancreas lipids varied considerably and seasonally, ranging from 1.2 to 8.2% of the tissue wet weight. Of the total lipids, the contents of the triglyceride class ranged from 14.5 to 87.4%. They had especially high values (mean: 75.8%) between April and October. Over an 11-month sampling period, the most predominant fatty acid in triglycerides isolated from the hepatopancreas lipids was 20:5ω3. Due to seasonal changes, the percentages of this ω3 poly-unsaturated fatty acid in triglycerides from the tissues from March to September were higher (32.3%) than those at other times (22.0%). In particular, the content of 20:5ω3-rich triglycerides (4.7g; 30.8% 20:5ω3 in triglycerides) in the hepatopancreas of the scallops harvested between April and October was greater than that obtained during other months (0.6g; 23.8%). This indicated that scallop hepatopancreas could be used as a potential natural source of 20: 5ω3-rich triglycerides in the production of nutritional or pharmaceutical products.
- Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi is an official journal of the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science written in Japanese only.
The society publishes an English journal, Fisheries Science, as well, which accepts submissions from non-members of the society over the world. Detailed information is available in http://jsfs.jp/en/journals/fisheries-science.