The triacylglycerol (TAG) composition of edible Mediterranean molluscs (Eledone moschata, Sepia officinalis, Todarodes sagittatus) and crustacean (Penaeus kerathurus) was studied using a combination of preparative RP–HPLC and GC/MS. In S. officinalis and T. sagittatus mantle TAG, the main fatty acids were C16:0 and C18:0 while in E. moschata they were C18:1ω-9, C16:0, C20:5ω-3 and C22:6ω-3. In P. kerathurus muscle and cephalothorax TAG, the main fatty acids were C16:0, C18:0, C18:1ω-9, C20:4ω-6, C20:5ω-3, C22:6ω-3 and C16:0, C18:1ω-9, C20:4ω-6, C20:5ω-3, C22:6ω-3, respectively.
Thirteen TAG species were detected, the distribution of which was found to range according to the partition number from 34 to 48 for molluscs and from 36 to 50 for the crustacean. Over sixty TAG molecular structures were identified in the major TAG species. The most important in quantitative terms were long chain TAGs containing C14:0, C16:0, C18:0 as SFA, C16:1, C18:1 as MUFA and C18:2, C20:4, C20:5, C22:6 as PUFA.
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