MUSCLE AND ROE LIPID COMPOSITION IN DIPLOID AND TRIPLOID SCALLOPS

ABSTRACT The use of triploid bivalves is now common in the market. We tested if there was a difference in lipid and long‐chain highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) accumulation in the muscle of diploid and triploid scallops (Argopecten ventricosus) during maturation, as triploids do not reproduce and lipids are not transferred to the gonad, and thus, could be accumulated in the meat (adductor muscle). Differences in triacylglycerols, phospholipids, esterified and free sterols, as well as HUFA in the reserves of gonads were found between diploid and triploid scallops. In contrast, no differences were found in the muscle for any of the lipid classes or fatty acid content in relation to ploidy, although they varied in relation to the sampling month. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The results obtained indicate that for human consumption purposes, the quality of the meat and roe of scallops follows a temporal pattern of lipid accumulation, with higher levels of total sterols in summer, but a higher proportion of arachidonic acid in winter and lower docosahexaenoic acid in autumn, and that the muscle lipid composition is not affected by the triploid condition.