Nutritional Studies on Marine Crabs (Decapoda: Portunidae: Galenidae) from the Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu

This study evaluates the nutritive value of edible marine crabs collected from the Coromandel Coast of the Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. Biochemical composition, including protein, carbohydrate, lipid and moisture content, was analyzed in both body and claw meat. Among the species studied, Portunus sanguinolentus exhibited the highest protein content (32.12 ± 0.586%), Scylla serrata showed the highest carbohydrate level (4.61 ± 0.558%) and Podophthalmus vigil recorded the highest lipid (3.75 ± 0.060%) and moisture content (79 ± 0.060%). Overall, hard-shelled crabs demonstrated higher nutritional values compared to soft-shelled crabs.