Tamburini Elena
Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via L. Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
Foods. 2024 Jun 26;13(13):2018. doi: 10.3390/foods13132018.
The blue crab, (Rathbun, 1896), has become an invading species in the Mediterranean region, almost completely replacing native species within a few years and causing significant loss to local production. In some areas, there is an urgent need to propose new supply chains based on blue crab exploitation, where the potential valorisation routes for unsaleable blue crab and waste play an important role. The final purpose is to transform a threat into a treasure, towards a more sustainable world. In addition to applications in food industries, the considerable quantity of bioactive compounds in by-products, such as polysaccharides, proteins, amino acids, carotenoids, and chitin, needs to be capitalised by means of efficacious strategies and appropriate management. Crab exoskeleton can also be exploited as a carbonaceous material with applications in several fields, including medicine. Blue crab bioactive molecules have been widely recognised for having antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Due to these functional and distinctive activities, such high-value components could be employed in various industries such as food-feed-pharma and cosmetics. Recycling and reusing these underutilised but economically valuable waste or by-products could help to reduce the environmental impacts of the whole supply chain from the perspective of the circular economy.
蓝蟹（Rathbun，1896年）已成为地中海地区的入侵物种，在几年内几乎完全取代了本地物种，并给当地生产造成了重大损失。在一些地区，迫切需要提出基于蓝蟹开发的新供应链，其中不可销售的蓝蟹和废弃物的潜在增值途径起着重要作用。最终目的是将威胁转化为财富，迈向更可持续的世界。除了在食品工业中的应用外，副产品中大量的生物活性化合物，如多糖、蛋白质、氨基酸、类胡萝卜素和几丁质，需要通过有效的策略和适当的管理加以利用。蟹壳也可以作为一种含碳材料加以开发，应用于包括医学在内的多个领域。蓝蟹生物活性分子因其具有抗氧化、抗癌、抗糖尿病、抗炎和抗菌特性而被广泛认可。由于这些功能性和独特的活性，这些高价值成分可用于食品-饲料-制药和化妆品等各种行业。从循环经济的角度来看，回收和再利用这些未充分利用但具有经济价值的废物或副产品有助于减少整个供应链对环境的影响。
