Characteristics of Food Nutrition Components of Common Stalked Barnacle Pollicipes mitella

Common stalked barnacle Pollicipes mitella is a filter-feeding crustacean that attaches itself to the surfaces of rocks in the ocean intertidal zone. Pollicipes mitella is one of about a dozen species of goose barnacle that are gathered commercially for human consumption. In Portugal and Spain, they are a widely consumed and expensive delicacy known as "Percebes (Pollicipes pollicipes )". However, common stalked barnacle is less popular in Korea, and information on its nutritional component is not yet available. In the present study, we analyzed the proximate and fatty acid compositions and mineral content of common stalked barnacle (muscle and cirrus). The muscle and cirrus of common stalked barnacle were 15.1% and 14.3% protein, and 3.31% and 1.81% lipid, respectively. The prominent fatty acids in the muscle and cirrus were 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), 16:0, 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA), 18:0, 18:1n-9, 16:1n-7 and 14:0. In particular, common stalked barnacle contained high levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as DHA (25.4-25.6%) and EPA (14.7-15.1%), and low levels of the n-6 fatty acid, 20:4n-6 (1.2-1.3%). Common stalked barnacle contained a relatively large amount of Zn (10-42 mg/100 g) in its muscle and cirrus.