Abstract:Water bodies with nutritional differences have different plankton composition, which may lead to different food composition for bighead carp, thus affecting the meat quality. At present, the annual output of bighead carp in China is approximately 3.1 million tons, and its feeding amount occupies a dominant position in fish farming in China. As the economy develops, consumers demand better food quality and especially high nutritional value. Therefore, this study explored the changes in the nutrient composition and content of bighead carp in different nutritional types of water. Using a single-factor experiment design, we selected bighead carp that were raised in high-, medium-, and low-nutrition natural reservoirs and artificial ponds (body length: 44.98~48.98 cm; weight: 1946.37~2289.32 g) and determined the physical properties and nutritional composition of the meat. The results showed that different nutritional types of water had no significant effect on the pH, a* value, shear force, water content, and ash content (P>0.05). Compared with artificial ponds, the L* value and cooking loss rate in the natural reservoir and the crude fat content in low-nutrient reservoir were significantly reduced (P<0.05), whereas the crude protein content in medium- and low-nutrient reservoirs were significantly decreased (P<0.05). When comparing reservoirs of different nutrition types, the crude fat content in high- and medium- nutrient reservoirs were significantly greater than low-nutrient reservoirs (P<0.05). Additionally, the crude protein content in high-nutrient reservoirs was significantly higher than medium- and low-nutrient reservoirs (P<0.05). Seventeen amino acids and 13 fatty acids were detected in bighead carp reared in natural reservoirs and artificial ponds. However, levels of essential amino acids, palmitic acid, myristic acid, and eicosaenoic acid in the natural reservoir were significantly higher than in the artificial pond (P<0.05). Taken together, the meat of bighead carp raised in natural reservoirs has the advantages of high quality meat color, strong water-holding capacity, low fat, and high essential amino acid content.
