Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis

Seafood is valued for its nutritional content; however, overfishing necessitates the focus on underutilised species to promote sustainable utilisation. We investigated the proximate and fatty acid compositions of hot-smoked Choromytilus meridionalis (black mussels) using AOAC International methods...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Suné Henning, Sinazo Matika, Ayodeji B. Oyenihi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academy of Science of South Africa 2025-08-01
Series:South African Journal of Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajs.co.za/article/view/21022
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849769939065372672
author Suné Henning
Sinazo Matika
Ayodeji B. Oyenihi
author_facet Suné Henning
Sinazo Matika
Ayodeji B. Oyenihi
author_sort Suné Henning
collection DOAJ
description Seafood is valued for its nutritional content; however, overfishing necessitates the focus on underutilised species to promote sustainable utilisation. We investigated the proximate and fatty acid compositions of hot-smoked Choromytilus meridionalis (black mussels) using AOAC International methods and gas chromatography. Lipid nutritional quality indices were calculated. Moisture content in mussels significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 19% after hot smoking, whilst ash, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate contents increased by 98%, 42%, 46% and 49%, respectively. Hot smoking significantly increased the polyunsaturated (37.70 ± 1.06%) and omega-3 fatty acid (33.36 ± 1.23%) contents. Conversely, omega-6 and saturated fatty acids of hot-smoked mussels were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those for raw mussels. The atherogenicity index and thrombogenicity index showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05), whilst the hypocholesterolaemic to hypercholesterolaemic ratio and the sum of EPA+DHA showed significant increases. This study shows that C. meridionalis is a valuable food with a high protein content and a well-balanced fatty acid composition, rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This study was the first to investigate the macronutrients of C. meridionalis. Significance: Choromytilus meridionalis is one of three bivalve species cultivated on a commercial scale along the West Coast of South Africa; however, it is underrealised as a commercial food product. The growing mussel industry has been considered a great potential for the alleviation of poverty, job creation, and food security. This research may provide mussel farmers, fish processing industries, and the community with information about processing opportunities using C. meridionalis. Successful product development may contribute to alleviating malnutrition and increasing food security. Open data set: https://doi.org/10.25381/cput.27014896.v1
format Article
id doaj-art-e356ac20d00a4a32b2b867f0618a8794
institution DOAJ
issn 1996-7489
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Academy of Science of South Africa
record_format Article
series South African Journal of Science
spelling doaj-art-e356ac20d00a4a32b2b867f0618a87942025-08-20T03:03:12ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892025-08-011217/810.17159/sajs.2025/21022Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalisSuné Henning0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3624-4467Sinazo Matika1Ayodeji B. Oyenihi2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9912-1539Department of Food Science and Technology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Food Science and Technology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South AfricaFunctional Foods Research Unit, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa; *Current: Medical Diagnostics Laboratory, Institute for Biomarker Research, Hamilton, New Jersey, USA Seafood is valued for its nutritional content; however, overfishing necessitates the focus on underutilised species to promote sustainable utilisation. We investigated the proximate and fatty acid compositions of hot-smoked Choromytilus meridionalis (black mussels) using AOAC International methods and gas chromatography. Lipid nutritional quality indices were calculated. Moisture content in mussels significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 19% after hot smoking, whilst ash, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate contents increased by 98%, 42%, 46% and 49%, respectively. Hot smoking significantly increased the polyunsaturated (37.70 ± 1.06%) and omega-3 fatty acid (33.36 ± 1.23%) contents. Conversely, omega-6 and saturated fatty acids of hot-smoked mussels were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those for raw mussels. The atherogenicity index and thrombogenicity index showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05), whilst the hypocholesterolaemic to hypercholesterolaemic ratio and the sum of EPA+DHA showed significant increases. This study shows that C. meridionalis is a valuable food with a high protein content and a well-balanced fatty acid composition, rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This study was the first to investigate the macronutrients of C. meridionalis. Significance: Choromytilus meridionalis is one of three bivalve species cultivated on a commercial scale along the West Coast of South Africa; however, it is underrealised as a commercial food product. The growing mussel industry has been considered a great potential for the alleviation of poverty, job creation, and food security. This research may provide mussel farmers, fish processing industries, and the community with information about processing opportunities using C. meridionalis. Successful product development may contribute to alleviating malnutrition and increasing food security. Open data set: https://doi.org/10.25381/cput.27014896.v1 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/21022nutritionproteinfatty acidsfood securityhot smokingunderutilised
spellingShingle Suné Henning
Sinazo Matika
Ayodeji B. Oyenihi
Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis
South African Journal of Science
nutrition
protein
fatty acids
food security
hot smoking
underutilised
title Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis
title_full Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis
title_fullStr Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis
title_full_unstemmed Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis
title_short Proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised South African mussel Choromytilus meridionalis
title_sort proximate and fatty acid compositions of smoked underutilised south african mussel choromytilus meridionalis
topic nutrition
protein
fatty acids
food security
hot smoking
underutilised
url https://sajs.co.za/article/view/21022
work_keys_str_mv AT sunehenning proximateandfattyacidcompositionsofsmokedunderutilisedsouthafricanmusselchoromytilusmeridionalis
AT sinazomatika proximateandfattyacidcompositionsofsmokedunderutilisedsouthafricanmusselchoromytilusmeridionalis
AT ayodejiboyenihi proximateandfattyacidcompositionsofsmokedunderutilisedsouthafricanmusselchoromytilusmeridionalis