Abstract:The breeding of snails is indispensable in Guangxi agriculture. The snail powder industry in Liuzhou City, Guangxi, reaches 8 billion yuan per year. With the improvement of living standards, people's demand for aquatic products is increasing, and their nutritional and safety requirements are becoming more stringent. In order to analyze the nutrient content of the muscles of Cipangopaludina cathayensis and the pollution of heavy metals, we tested the muscle content of conventional nutrients, amino acids, fatty acids, and some heavy metals in C. cathayensis snails from Luchuan County, Yulin, Guangxi. The amino acid score (AAS) and chemical score (CS) were used to evaluate muscle amino acid levels, while the single factor pollution index (I), comprehensive pollution index (P), and target risk factor (THQ) were used to evaluate safety. The results showed that the crude protein, moisture, crude fat, and crude ash content of C. cathayensis were 13.89%, 76.52%, 0.57%, and 5.21%, respectively; 16 amino acids were detected in the muscle; the total amount was 106.2 mg/g, including 8 human essential amino acids, accounting for 36.8% of the mass; the essential amino acid index (EAAI) was 248.2, and delicious amino acids accounted for 48.2%. A total of 19 fatty acids were detected, including 8 saturated fatty acids (SFA), accounting for 43.8%, and 11 unsaturated fatty acids, accounting for 56.2%. The EPA+DHA content reached 9.77%, and the atherosclerosis index (IA) and thrombosis index (IT) were 0.08 and 0.12, respectively. The contents of lead, cadmium, chromium, and copper in the muscle were 0.897, 0.0055, 0.214, and 4.62 mg/kg, respectively, all of which met the national health standards. The pollution index for lead was 0.897, while that for all others were below 0.15. The comprehensive pollution index was 0.66, which is relatively clean. The THQ evaluation results show that copper has the lowest risk, and lead has the highest risk. The total hazard coefficient (TTHQ) of a single heavy metal THQ and compound heavy metal was less than 0.3. In summary, C. cathayensis has high protein and low fat content, is rich in EPA and DHA, with no risk of heavy metal exposure, and has high nutritional and aquaculture development value. This study explored the nutritional value and safety of C. cathayensis and could therefore, provide some reference for the rational development and utilization of C. cathayensis resources in China.
