FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

The chemical composition of head-arm, mantle and fin of giant squid, Dosidicus gigas, was analyzed. There were no distinct differences among samples in the proximate composition, composition profiles of amino acid and fatty acid and cholesterol content. The moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash and calorie content were 85.0～86.9%, 12.8～13.4%, 0.3%, 0.8～1.0% and 54～56 Kcal/100 g, respectively. According to the amino acid analysis, the protein of these samples was rich in essential amino acids. The percentage ratios of saturated, monooic and polyoic acids in total fatty acids were 73.2～75.7%, 9.7～11.0% and 13.9～15.8%, respectively. Cholesterol was 13.9 ～16.1 g/100 g of crude fat or 44.6～60.6 mg/100 g of meat. Key words: Giant squid Dosidicus gigas, Proximate composition, Amino acid profile, Fatty acid profile, Cholestrol