Dietary supplementation with synthetic astaxanthin and DHA interactively regulates physiological metabolism to improve the color and odor quality of ovaries in adult female Eriocheir sinensis.

The present study aimed to investigate the interactive effects of dietary supplementation to the feed with astaxanthin and/or DHA on the color and odor of Eriocheir sinensis ovaries. The results revealed that astaxanthin supplementation significantly increased redness of E. sinensis ovaries (P < 0.05). Moreover, the addition of either astaxanthin or DHA alone to the feed affected the deposition of carotenoids and fatty acids in E. sinensis ovaries. More importantly, the simultaneous supplementation of astaxanthin and DHA significantly improved color, carotenoid content, and polyunsaturated fatty acid content (P < 0.05) in E. sinensis ovaries, as well as increased the content of aroma compounds during thermal processing. Based on the present findings, the optimal combination of dietary astaxanthin and DHA is 100 mg/kg of synthetic astaxanthin and 0.15% of DHA, respectively, which could improve color and odor quality of ovaries for E. sinensis.