Abstract:
The lipid and fatty acid compositions of five Indian species of prawns, Meta-
penaeus monoceros, M. dobsoni„ M, affinis, Penaeus indicus and Parapenaeopsis stylifera,
were examined, Phospholipids constituted 50 70% of the total lipids,
with phosphatidyl cholinc (50%) and phosphatidyl ethanolamine (29%) as
their chief components. Unsaponifiable matter comprised 21-40%, chiefly
cholesterol: triglycerides only constituted 9 -14.5%. In the total lipids (I.V.
90-112), saturated, monoenoic and polyenoic fatty acids averaged 42, 24 and
34%. Palmitic acid is high, oleic low, and 20:5 generally, but not always, higher
than 22:6. The only brackish water prawn, M. monoceros, though generally in
conformity, was distinctive in several respects.
