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Biochemical composition of exoskeleton in freshwater crab Sartoriana spinigera, (Wood Mason, 1871) with special reference to concentration of protein

S. Paul*, P. Nayan,  R. N. Prasad and S. Besra
Zoology Department, Ranchi College, R.U., Ranchi-834008, Jharkhand, India.
Received 10th May, 2010; Revised 22nd August, 2010

Abstract : Sartoriana spinigera is an edible freshwater crab belonging to phylum -Arthropoda and class Crustacea.  It is abundantly found in freshwater bodies and wetlands of Ranchi, Jharkhand and sold at high rates in the local markets of Ranchi.
The crustaceans body is covered by carapace which is a composite material composed of proteins and glycoproteins intimately associated with chitin fibrils, the minerals are deposited in conjunction with an organic matrix (Thomas H. Shafer et al., 2006).
The exoskeleton proteins are among most organic constituents at the crustaceans cuticle and are largely responsible for its mechanical properties (Skinner et al., 1992; O’Brien et al., 1993; Andersen, 1998a and Coblentz et al., 1981). These proteins constitute the structural component of the chitin protein microfibers and are also involved in the interaction between the microfibers and interfibrillar matrix and in the calcified exoskeleton, mineral components. Carapace proteins have been categorized into two important major proteins, Arthropodins (Fraenkel and Raudall, 1947) and Sclerotins (Pryor, 1940).
In the present paper quantitative analysis of carapace proteins have been done. The protein conceration in the dry weight of carapace of freshwater crab Sartoriana spinigera  ranged between 9-22.4% (g/100g) with an average of 14.4 ± 4.6%. Our studies also showed the concentration of protein in demineralised carapace with value ranging between  16.6-49.4 (g/100g) with an average of 29.17±11.6.

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