Fatty Acid Profiles of Raw and Cooked Meat Obtained from the Barents Sea Red King Crab

Previous studies have reported the fatty acid composition of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) meat; however, no comparative analyses have simultaneously investigated raw (RM) and cooked meat (CM). This study addresses this gap by employing gas-liquid chromatography to analyze the fatty acid profiles of RM and CM from red king crabs from the coastal Barents Sea, Russia. Both products exhibited significant sex-specific differences, with females containing higher levels of fatty acids in their meat than males. Furthermore, males displayed greater dissimilarity between RM and CM compared to females. While nutritional indices were comparable between male and female RM and CM, the cooking process resulted in improved nutritional indices in CM relative to RM. Moreover, the red king crab meat exhibited superior nutritional indices compared to those reported for other, primarily southern, crab species, reflecting a higher polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio in both RM and CM. Comparisons with the existing literature revealed variability in red king crab meat fatty acid levels across geographical locations and years, suggesting that spatial variations in diet and temporal fluctuations in feeding habits may influence meat quality. Our findings confirm the high nutritional value of red king crab meat, a finding of relevance to both scientific and consumer audiences.