Variation of Lipid Concentration In Some Edible Crabs

This experiment was conducted to investigate and compare the variation in lipid composition of the various commercially important crabs such as Scylla serrata, Portunus pelagicus, P. sanguinolentus, Charybdis feriatus, Podpthalmus vigil. The present study investigates the variation in total lipid concentration of the hemolymph, ovary and hepatopancreas of the above mentioned experimental crabs by using the acidic dichromate oxidation method. Among the four different parts such as hepatopancreas, muscle, ovary and hemolymph of the crabs, the maximum lipid content was noticed in hepatopancreas (28.7%) of S. serrata and minimum in the hemolymph (1.6%) of P. vigil. The lipid concentration of muscle and hemolymph was lower than that of ovary and hepatopancreas in all the tested species. From the present investigation it could concluded that storage and accumulation of lipid in the brachyuran crabs are mainly in hepatopancreas.