80 Indian J. Fish., 64(4): 80-86, 2017 DOI: 10.21077/ijf.2017.64.4.55342-11 Investigations on mineral content in warty crab Eriphia verrucosa (Forskal, 1775) from the Rize Coast of Black Sea, Turkey EMRE CAGLAK AND BARIS KARSLI Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Processing Technology, 53100, Rize, Turkey e-mail: emre.caglak@erdogan.edu.tr ABSTRACT This study investigated the seasonal variations in mineral content of edible parts of male and female warty crab Eriphia verrucosa (Forskal, 1775) distributed along Rize Coast of Black Sea and compared the same with the limit values of mineral content for human consumption set by various national and international standards. The contents of Al, B, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni and P estimated during the present study did not exceed the limit values as per the national and international standards. However, Pb (0.25-0.70 mg kg -1 ), Se (0.29-0.75 mg kg -1 ) and Zn (43.86-72.59 mg kg -1 ) contents were found to be above the limit values. In terms of daily consumption values, it was found that, Al (1.86-3.35 mg kg -1 ), B (2.17-3.65 mg kg -1 ), Fe (2.80-6.44 mg kg -1 ) and Mo (0.01-0.02 mg kg -1 ) contents were within the limits as per all standards; while Ca, Cd, Cr, K, Mg, Mn, Na and P contents were above the limits prescribed by certain standards and Cu, Pb, Se and Zn contents were above the limits as per all the standards Most mineral contents of female crabs were higher than those of the males. Additionally, mineral content of the crabs was observed to increase during summer compared to other seasons. Keywords: Black Sea, Eriphia verrucosa, Gender, Mineral content, Season, Warty crab Introduction Seafoods are one of the most important sources of healthy and balanced diet of which crustaceans are of signifcant economic importance due to the quality of edible meat. Crab meat is said to be an excellent source in terms of macro and micro elements such as calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, copper, manganese, zinc and calcium, in particular (Kucukgelmez et al., 2006; Chen et al., 2007; Kayhan et al., 2010; Jimmy and Arazu 2012). The warty crab Eriphia verrucosa (Forskal, 1775) is an important species of crab in the Black Sea which is mostly consumed in the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts in Turkey. Total production of warty crab in Turkey in 2016 was 6 t (TUIK, 2016). The present study attempted to estimate the content of minerals. viz., aluminum (Al), boron (B), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), sodium (Na), nickel (Ni), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) in the warty crab caught in the Rize coast of the Black Sea. Nutritional value of crab meat in terms of human health and the metal pollution of the region were also assessed during the study. Materials and methods Study area and sampling The study was carried out druing the period May 2012 to March 2013 in coastal areas of Rize Province in the Eastern Black Sea coast (between 41.05 N - 40.46 E, 41.03 N - 40.45 E, 41.05 N - 40.62 E, 41.06 N - 40.60 E coordinates). The crab samples for the study were collected from fshermen engaged in fshing, operating nets in the depth range of 10-20 m. A total of 103 crab samples were used in the study. The samples taken seasonally were kept alive in styrofoam boxes with ice and brought to the Processing Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Turkey. Crab samples were sorted into females and males, their length and weight measurements were taken using a digital caliper (Maher 16; with a precision of 0.1 mm) and a digital scale (And G-200 with a precision of 0.01 g) respectively. The carapace meat and claw meat of the crabs were picked by hand, pooled and the meat thus collected from 40 females (average weight 78.39±18.59 g) and 63 males (average weight 156.98±29.84 g) were labeled and preserved at 72°C until analysis. Mineral content analysis The crab meat samples were dried at 105°C, crushed in a porcelain mortar and 0.5 g sample was treated with 5 ml of nitric acid (65%) at room temperature for 24 h followed by incubation at 100°C 4 h. The acid treated samples were cooled to room temperature and fltered (Whatman no. 42). The fltered samples were made up to 25 ml with deionised water (Caglak and Karslı, 2014) and mineral contents were analysed in an inductively coupled