Farmed mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Black Sea reveal seasonal differences in their neutral and polar lipid fatty acids profile

Abstract

Abstract Studies on the monthly variations of the fatty acid composition of the total lipids, the two neutral lipid fractions (NL) and the polar lipids (PoL) and the lipid quality parameters of Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, harvested along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, were conducted. The total lipid content ranged from 1.00 to 2.34 g.100 g−1 ww reaching maximum levels in March. The total sterol content increased significantly from spring to autumn. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (36%–79% of the total fatty acids) dominated over the saturated fatty acids (22%–55%) and monounsaturated fatty acids (7%–21%) throughout the studied period. Significant differences in the fatty acid distribution were observed between the lipid fractions. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) constituted the major group in PoL within the period, while SFAs were the most abundant group in the NL fraction in February and April–August.\u200b In the PoL fraction, the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) prevailed over the n-6 ones. The predominant PUFAs in both lipid fractions were eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) (10%–58% of FA in NL and 22%–51% in PoL). M. galloprovincialis from the Black Sea presented favourable low values of n-6/n-3 ratios and nutritional indices of their lipids.