Title: Adriatic shellfish as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids-I

Biography:

Natalija Topi Popovi, DVM, MSc, PhD, senior scientist, is a member of Laboratory for Aquaculture Biotechnoloy within the Ruder Boskovic Institute in Zagreb, Croatia, and of the Centre of Excellence for Marine Bioprospecting-BioProCro within the same institute.

Abstract

A great variety of organisms inhabiting seas and oceans are rich sources of fatty acids (FA). Marine biogenic lipids are vastly provided from the bivalves, which can successfully be farmed and enhanced. This work is focused on seasonal variation of fatty acid content and relative ratios of the specific polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 to n-6) in European flat oysters from the Adriatic Sea. Farmed seafood are natural products and are subjected to normal seasonal variations in composition that can affect nutritional functional properties. Increased understanding of these compositional variations is of interest for the industry for labeling and for health purposes. Also, there is a gap in the area of the links between consumption of Croatian aquaculture seafood and their benefits for human health. The aim of this research is to overcome this gap by identification of unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 and n-6) of native European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis L.) and to identify benefits that could be used to promote this seafood. Our research shows that the highest values of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids occur in the winter and spring. Because of the potential for national health benefits and consequent reduction in health costs, this work supports harvesting of oysters for unsaturated fatty acids extracts as a national health priority and economical prosperity.