Nutritional comparison in muscle of wild, pond and factory cultured Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) adults

Muscle proximate composition, amino acid profiles, fatty acid compositions and selected minerals of wild, pond and factory cultured Japanese flounder adults were compared in this study to elucidate their nutritive values and dietary nutrition requirements. Wild and pond cultured Japanese flounder flesh had higher crude proteins, but crude lipid contents of factory cultured fish were 3.8 similar to 4.0 fold greater. Major amino acids in Japanese flounder were aspartic acid, glutamic acid and lysine. Wild fish had higher levels of total amino acids, essential amino acids, nonessential amino acids and half-essential amino acids and the contents in pond cultured samples were similar. Arachidonic acids (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA), docosahexaenoic acids (DHA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), DHA + EPA and n-3 PUFA in wild Japanese flounder were significantly higher than that in factory cultured fish, whereas fatty acid levels were close between pond cultured and wild fish. Japanese flounder were rich in zinc, iron and selenium, but poor in copper, chromium and nickel. Results indicated wild Japanese flounder had higher nutritional value and better meat quality, but the nutritional compositions of pond cultured fish were close to wild Japanese flounder, which suggested that pond culture of Japanese flounder offers broad application prospects.