Concentration of Organic Acids in Shellfish with Particular Reference to Succinic Acid

Abstract

Several species of shellfish were analyzed for organic acids mainly by the chromatographic method using silica gel column. In the freshly caught short-necked clam (Tapes japonica), fumaric, succinic, lactic, and malic acids were detected. The concentration of each acid changed only slightly with season and size of the clam. The amount of succinic acid, which has been considered to be one of the most important tasty ingredients in edible bivalves, was consistently less than 40 mg%, the value being far lower than those previously reported on the same species. The reason may be explained by the finding that succinic acid markedly increased while the clams were left in the air after collection. The rate of accumulation was higher in summer than in winter. The concentrations of succinic acid in the soft part of fresh-water clam (Corbicula leana) and the adductor muscle each of two species of scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis and Chlamys nipponensis) and fan-mussel (Atrina pectinata japonica) were also fairly lower than those reported by the previous workers.