Biochemical composition of the nereidid Perinereis cultrifera from the Egyptian Mediterranean Coast

The present study documents the seasonal biochemical composition of the nereidid polychaete Perinereis cultrifera (carbohydrates, protein, lipids, fatty acids and amino acids) collected from a shallow area on the Alexandria coast, southeast Mediterranean. The results of this study showed that P. cultrifera contained 85.34-87.76% of the wet weight as water, 14.7-20.53% of dry weight (DW) as ash, 8.3-14.84% of DW as carbohydrates, 57.33-59.9% of DW as protein and 11.59-13.36% of DW as lipids. The total fatty acids varied seasonally from 45.9 to 100% of the total lipids with the absolute dominance (37.44-91.53%) of the polyunsaturated eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (C20:5n-3), accompanied by a small amount of the saturate stearic acid (C18:0). Eighteen amino acids were identified, including 10 essential (59.62-61.02% of protein) and 8 nonessential (38.98-40.38% of protein).