Effect of season on the chemical composition and nutritional quality of the edible crab Cancer pagurus.

Cancer pagurus is most appreciated in southern Europe for its muscle and brown meat content. In Portugal, consumption occurs mostly in summer and at Christmas. In this study the seasonal nutritional quality of edible tissues of female and male C. pagurus was determined. Tissue composition was affected by season and sex. All tissues had a well-balanced essential amino acid composition. Muscle and gonads of females had n-3/n-6 ratios in the range of the usual recommended values, and all tissues had PUFA/SFA above the recommended level. Autumn was the season with the highest brown meat yield, total essential amino acids (muscle), taurine (all tissues), EPA (male gonads), and n-3/n-6 ratio (gonads). However, it was also the season with the highest fat content and cholesterol concentration in ovaries. Therefore, people with restricted diets should moderate the consumption of ovaries in autumn. The remaining tissues pose no risks with respect to their proximate chemical composition.