Effects of conventional versus organic production systems on amino acid profiles and heavy metal concentrations in the Chinese shrimp Penaeus chinensis

Amino acid composition and heavy metal concentration were examined in organic and conventional Chinese shrimp Penaeus chinensis production systems during the production cycle. The crude protein and total amino acid contents for organic shrimp samples were 0.932 and 0.945 mg/g d.w., while they were 0.849 and 0.826 mg/g d.w., respectively, for conventionally produced samples. The ratios of essential amino acids to nonessential amino acids in organic and conventional cultured shrimp were 0.58 and 0.63, respectively. Shrimp samples from the conventional system were significantly richer in Cu (2.28 vs. 1.53 mg kg(-1)), Pb (0.13 vs. 0.08 mg kg(-1)), Cd (0.09 vs. 0.04 mg kg(-1)), and Zn (9.94 vs. 8.42 mg kg(-1)) when compared with those obtained from the organic system. It is concluded that organic shrimp production systems can produce comparable growth and nutritional quality benefits.