More evidences for the nutritional quality and future exploitation of the invasive crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) from the River Nile, Egypt

This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional quality with some food applications of the invasive Procambarus clarkii from the River Nile, Egypt. The moisture content was 75.75 ± 2.3% and crude protein on dry weight basis was estimated as 73.25 ± 4.1%. Essential amino acids were 0.529, 0.131, 0.181, 0.016 and 0.058 mg/g for isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, and valine, respectively, whereas non-essential amino acids were 0.173 and 0.032 mg/g for tyrosine and cystine, respectively. A total of 15 fatty acids was detected [8 saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and 7 unsaturated fatty acids (USFA)], the major SFA was palmitic acid (C16:0; 26.63%), whereas the major USFA was oleic acid (C18:1n-9; 29.26%). Vitamins A, D, E, and K were 3181, 2, 175, and 1.7 mg/kg, respectively. Minerals were 937.7, 1639.1, 2171.6, and 0.01 mg/kg for Na, K, Mg, and I, respectively. Six heavy metals were monitored (mg/kg) 0.47, 0.32, 0.05, 81.31, 203.21, and 0.23 for Hg, Pb, Ca, Fe, Zn, and Ni, respectively. For food processing applications, the two products had acceptable levels for consumption in test panel responses. Moreover, P. clarkii should be considered for exploitation and recommended for further investigation as a potential raw material for the pharmaceutical industry and a new cheap animal protein source.