Fatty Acid Compositions of Cultured Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) from Korean and Japanese Spats

Changes in lipid content, lipid class and fatty acid compositions of the cultured oysters in shallow-water, Bukman bay (Tongyeong, Korea), using both Korean and Japanese spats were investigated. The content of non-polar lipid (NL) comprised approximately $60- 80\%$ of total lipid (TL) in the cultured oysters. There was a positive correlation between NL content and meat weight, y=0.287lx-15.309 (r=0.834l, p<0.001). The prominent fatty acids of the oysters were 16:0, 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA), 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), 18:0, l8:1n-7, l8:1n-9, l6:1n-7, 14:0 and l6:4n-3. During the growth of the oysters, l6:4n-3 showed the highest coefficient of variation, accounting for $41.8\%$ for the Korean oyster and $32.3\%$ for the Japanese one, respectively. Both oysters showed low level of n-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA and high level of n-6 fatty acid, 20:4n-6, in the spawning period (August). During growth of the oysters, both EPA and DHA were the richest fatty acids in the harvest period (December, 314 mg/100g sample) and in the pre-spawning period (July, 237-247 mg/100g sample), respectively. Consequently, the cultured oyster with Japanese spat contained approximately two times more n-3 fatty acids per oyster individual than those with Korean one in the harvest season.