Sensorial analysis of wild and enhanced gonads of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816)
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1
MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Peniche, Portugal
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2
University of Coimbra, CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, Portugal
Sea urchin roe are becoming an extremely appreciated delicacy in occidental gastronomy, similar to what happens in Asian countries, such as in Japan, where it is considered a gastronomic tradition. The high commercial value and the continuously growing market demand are starting to cause the decline of sea urchins natural stocks, such is the case of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1846) in Europe. Thus the interest in aquaculture has increased in the last decade. In echinoculture it is possible to do a gonad enhancement, whereby harvested adult sea urchins are maintained in captivity and fed with natural algae or prepared diets, to improve gonad yield and quality. Although many studies have proved that prepared diets are a good alternative for gonad production, few have focused on the quality issue. Apart from size, gonad characteristics like colour, texture, firmness and taste, are determinant for the market acceptance and value. This study aimed to assess the sensorial profile of P. lividus gonads from wild individuals and those enhanced in captivity. In this study, P. lividus adults (n=200), with test diameter ranging from 32 to 50 mm, were collected in intertidal rocky pools from the coast of Peniche (Portugal) and transported to the Aquaculture Lab of MARE-IPLeiria. The sea urchins were maintained in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), within a 660 L fibreglass rectangular tank, and were fasted for a week. Afterwards, P. lividus were fed ad libitum, with a jellified diet (spinach, maize, pumpkin and agar), during 12 weeks. Temperature varied from 14.4 °C to 18.1 °C. A semi-trained panel of 14 assessors was used for the sensory evaluation, descriptive analysis and affective tests were carried out. Gonads from wild (n=46) and enhanced (n=46) sea urchins were prepared in the Sensorial Analysis Lab from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria. Panellists assessed the appearance, odour, texture, taste and aftertaste using 12 defined descriptive terms. Through descriptive analysis, it was observed that the colour of the gonads were bright orange in individuals fed the jellified diet and yellow-orange in the wild ones. Although the results of roe’s gloss and granularity were higher in wild sea urchins than in the enhanced animals, results of shape and texture’s inherent terms (firmness, mouth coating) showed almost no differences between both types of organisms. While the wild harvested sea urchins obtained higher results for odour, taste (bitter, umami) and residual flavour, the gonads of sea urchins fed with the jellified diet were sweeter. In terms of acceptance, both sea urchins obtained a mean of 7 out of 9 points on the hedonic scale, corresponding to the category “I like it very much”. Overall, it was possible to conclude that the diet formulated to enhance roe produced successful results in terms of gonad quality, although some improvements should be made in order to optimize gonad taste and odour.
Acknowledgements
This project has the financial support of Operational Programme MAR2020 through the project 16-02-01-FMP-0004: Ouriceira Aqua: Aquaculture and Enhancement of Gonad Production in the Sea Urchin (Paracentrotus lividus). This study also had the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre.
Keywords:
Paracentrotus lividus,
Sensory analysis,
Gonad enhancement,
Sea urchin roe,
Echinoculture
Conference:
IMMR'18 | International Meeting on Marine Research 2018, Peniche, Portugal, 5 Jul - 6 Jul, 2018.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Aquaculture
Citation:
Moreira
N,
Pombo
A,
Raposo
AG,
Venâncio
E,
Branco
G,
Ferreira
S and
Ganhão
RM
(2019). Sensorial analysis of wild and enhanced gonads of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816).
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
IMMR'18 | International Meeting on Marine Research 2018.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2018.06.00123
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Received:
26 Apr 2018;
Published Online:
07 Jan 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Miss. Natacha Moreira, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Peniche, Peniche, Portugal, natacha.a.moreira@gmail.com