Composicion Quimica De Los Cefalopos

composición Chemistry 113 (2009) 1146–1153

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Food Chemistry
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Elemental composition of cephalopods from Portuguese continental waters
H.M. Lourenço a,b,*, P. Anacleto a, C. Afonso a, V. Ferraria a, M.F. Martins a, M.L. Carvalho c, A.R. Lino b,
M.L. Nunes a
a

Instituto Nacional dos RecursosBiológicos (INRB, I.P./L-IPIMAR), Av. Brasília, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
c
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Departamento de Física, Centro de Física Atómica, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 2, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
b

article

info

Articlehistory:
Received 13 February 2008
Received in revised form 16 June 2008
Accepted 1 September 2008

Keywords:
Cephalopods
Octopus
Squid
Cuttlefish
Essential elements
Contaminant metals

abstract
Essential and contaminant elements concentrations were determined in the muscle tissue of octopus
(Octopus vulgaris), squid (Loligo vulgaris) and cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), caught off thePortuguese coast
in 2004–2005. As expected, the largest concentrations found correspond to Cl, S, K, Na, P and Mg (average
values between 629 mg (100 g)À1, for Cl, and 435 mg kgÀ1, for Mg, in octopus and squid, respectively).
Above average concentrations of Zn, Cu, Fe and Sr were also found. The highest total Hg concentration
was found in cuttlefish (0.36 mg kgÀ1); however, this value did notexceed the recommended limit proposed by EU (0.5 mg kgÀ1). Lead levels observed in all samples were always significantly lower than the
EU limit (1.0 mg kgÀ1). Regarding Cd, the 1.0 mg kgÀ1 limit was only exceeded in two octopus samples. It
may be concluded that the cephalopods studied do not constitute cause for concern, in terms of toxic elements, and could be safely used for daily intake ofessential elements. Nevertheless, the squid contribution for elemental DI is minor in comparison to the other two species.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Fish and shellfish are considered some of the most interesting
dietary products, and their nutritional benefits are well-known.
Seafood is rich in protein, with a balanced amino acid composition
and a high proportionof polyunsaturated fatty acids (Belitz,
Grosch, & Schieberle, 2004; Oehlenschläger, 1997). These species
also contain most of the 90 natural elements (Causeret, 1962; Lall,
1995). The largest concentrations correspond to carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur (structural elements) followed by
chlorine, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium and calcium
(Lall, 1995; Oehlenschläger,1997). Other elements are present at
lower levels, being described as trace or ultratrace elements. These
elements are classed as essential, when their biological roles are
well-known, such as occurs with iron, copper, zinc, iodine, manganese, selenium or fluorine; non-essential, when their physiological
functions have not been clearly demonstrated, such as occurs with
nickel, vanadium andarsenic; and toxic, such as mercury, lead and
cadmium (Lall, 1995).
Cephalopods are an excellent source of some essential elements
(Oehlenschläger, 1997); however, given the morphological and
biological characteristics associated to their habitat, some contam-

* Corresponding author. Address: Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos,
INRB, I.P./L-IPIMAR, Av. Brasília, 1449-006 Lisboa,Portugal. Tel.: +351 213027031;
fax: +351 213015948.
E-mail address: helena@ipimar.pt (H.M. Lourenço).
0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.09.003

inant metals may accumulate in their tissues (Bustamante,
Caurant, Fowler, & Miramand, 1998; Bustamante, Grigioni,
Boucher-Rodoni, Caurant, & Miramand, 2000; Soldevilla, 1987).
Among...