DISTRIBUTION OF BROMOPHENOLS IN AUSTRALIAN WILD-HARVESTED AND CULTIVATED PRAWNS (SHRIMP)

摘要

Thirty samples of 9 species of prawns (shrimp) harvested from sites along the eastern coast of Australia and 10 samples of two cultivated species were analyzed by GC/MS for the key flavor components, 2- and 4-bromophenol, 2,4- and 2,6-dibromophenol, and 2,4,6-tribromophenol. In the commercially important wild-harvested species, Penaeus plebejus, P. esculentus, and P. latisulcatus, the total bromophenol content was found to vary between 9.5 and 1114 ng/g, while in the major cultivated species, P. monodon, the total bromophenol content was <1 ng/g. Sensory analyses of 10 samples of wild-harvested prawns showed that the meat of these animals had briny, ocean-like, and prawn-like flavors, whereas all five samples of cultivated prawns were described as bland. Furthermore, analysis by GC/MS of the heads (including the gut) and tails of these animals showed that in wild-harvested prawns the average total bromophenol content in the heads was 6.8 times greater than that in the tails; in cultivated animals it was only 3 times greater. These observations support the opinion that bromophenols are derived from components of the diets of these animals. The paper discusses the likely dietary sources of these compounds in Australian prawns and a possible controlled dietary procedure to improve the flavor of cultivated animals. [References: 22]