earticle

영어

Regional variation in the fatty acid content of shellfish was investigated on 5 species of Korean shellfish includingmurex shell, ark shell, jack-knife clam, orient hard clam, and little neck clam that were originated from 2 geographicallydifferent regions in Korea (Region 1: South coast, 34-35oN, 127-129oE; Region 2: West coast, 36-38oN, 126-127oE).Significant regional difference in total fatty acids content was observed in murex shell and little neck clam (p<0.01), but not inthe other species of shellfish. The contents of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fattyacids including n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were appreciably higher in murex shell from Region 2 and in little neck clam fromRegion 1 than the shellfish originated from their counterpart areas (p<0.05). Nevertheless, relative percentages of the fattyacids remained constant within same species regardless of geographic regions or species. Considering the facts of that the fish/shellfish are unique sources of n-3 fatty acids and a little neck clam is the most-consumed shellfish in Korea, n-3 fatty acidsintake might vary with the habitat of the shellfish that Koreans consume.