Nutritional profile of the edible tissue of freshwater mollusc Bellamya bengalensis from Tripura, India

Introduction

Bellamya bengalensis is a freshwater mollusc or river snail widely known as "Ghongha". It is an important but rarely investigated biological resource of the aquatic ecosystems of the Indian subcontinent (Mondal et al., 2023; Bhowmik et al., 2025) [13,6] . Non-traditional food resources like freshwater gastropods are emerging as potential low-cost nutritional supplements due to the increasing concerns to global food security caused by population pressure and depletion of conventional protein sources (Vaishnav et al., 2025; Rout et al., 2023) [27,23] . In India, particularly in the ethnically diverse Northeast area, these molluscs have ecological and cultural importance as they are fundamental to the traditional nutritional and medical practices of various ethnic groups (Rout et al., 2022; Baby et al., 2010) [22,5] . Bellamya bengalensis is commonly gathered from rivers, streams and ponds in states like Tripura and Assam and is an important source of animal protein for rural and tribal people who have little access to costly commercial meats (Nath et al., 2023) [15] . Besides being a source of macronutrients, this species is also acknowledged for its rich mineral constitution and its medicinal use in traditional medicine, where it is widely taken for the treatment of various maladies from arthritis to vision impairment (Mondal et al., 2023) [13] . As a primary source of food in Tripura, the proximate composition and detailed micronutrient profiles of edible tissue of Bellamya bengalensis from this particular region are not well studied and location-specific. The nutritional quality and biochemical composition of these species are greatly influenced by the environmental parameters such as water quality and habitat features of the distinct riverine systems of Tripura (Chutia et al., 2021) [8] . An urgent necessity exists to scientifically substantiate the nutritional assertions of these indigenous groups, to promote their acceptance as a potential nutraceutical and as a means to combat malnutrition. The present study is an attempt to provide a general analysis of the nutritional profile of the edible tissue of Bellamya bengalensis from Tripura, India. Baseline data are necessary for the sustainable use and potential commercialization of this species as a high quality and bioavailable food resource.

Material and Methods

Collection of raw material

The experimental freshwater mollusc B. bengalensis employed in the present study were sourced from the Lake Chowmuhani market in Agartala city, Tripura, India. The snails were transported in live condition in polythene bag and transferred to a tub filled with clean water for depuration for a period of 48 hours. The average morphometric dimensions recorded were 4.1 cm in shell length and 2.9 cm in width, with a corresponding mean body weight of 10.68 g.

b. Analysis of proximate composition

The proximate composition of edible tissue of B. bengalensis were analyzed to determine its moisture, crude protein, crude fat, carbohydrate and ash content using standard methods prescribed by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2016) [4] . c. Amino acid analysis Samples were hydrolyzed in 6 N hydrochloric acid (HCl) in sealed hydrolysis tubes at 110°C for 24 h to ensure complete cleavage of the peptide bonds and liberation of the free amino acids. Samples were cooled, neutralized and appropriately diluted for chromatographic analysis. The released amino acids were derivatized with ophthaldialdehyde (OPA) to increase detectability to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The analysis was carried out on a Waters HPLC system with a Symmetry® C18 column (4.6 × 150mm). The mobile phase was delivered at a constant flow rate of 1 mL/min. Detection was carried out using a photodiode array (PDA) detector. The method, adapted from Nguyen et al. (2022) [16] to determine the presence and profile of the amino acids in the samples based on their retention time and characteristic chromatographic behavior.

Results and Discussion a. Proximate Composition of edible tissue of B. bengalensis

The moisture content was 73.88±7.19 %, which is higher than that reported for some freshwater molluscs such as B. costula (71.20%) (Rout et al., 2022) [22] and B. dissimilis (67.73%) (Debnath et al., 2016) [9] , as well as certain marine molluscs including Lunella torquata (68.50%) (Ab Lah et al., 2017) [1] and Rapana venosa (70.75%) (Luo et al., 2017) [12] . However, it was lower than that of other freshwater and terrestrial species such as P. canaliculata (78.10%) (Pratama and Andriani, 2018) [20] and Achatina fulica (90.27%) (Adegoke et al., 2010) [2] . The crude protein content was 13.91±1.73 %, comparable to B. costula (13.83%) (Rout et al., 2022) but lower than that of Achatina marginata (19.53%) (Fagbuaro et al., 2006) [11] and R. venosa (19.15%) (Luo et al., 2017) [12] , possibly due to habitatdriven dietary differences (Ab Lah et al., 2017; Luo et al., 2017) [1,12] . Notably, the protein content exceeds that of several common protein sources such as catfish (10.76%), carp (11.88%), chicken (11.83%), and beef (12.94%) (Bar, 2022). The fat content of B. bengalensis was 0.98±0.06 %, consistent with other freshwater snails but lower than many terrestrial and marine species (Ab Lah et al., 2017) [1] , with reported variations ranging from 0.82% in B. costula to 1.15% in P. globosa (Debnath et al., 2016) [9] . The carbohydrate content was 8.52±0.64 %, higher than some terrestrial and marine molluscs but comparable within freshwater species (Rout et al., 2022; Debnath et al., 2016; Fagbuaro et al., 2006; Ab Lah et al., 2017) [23,9,11,1] , possibly reflecting metabolic demands associated with reproduction during the rainy season (Debnath et al., 2016) [9] . The ash content was 4.55±0.76 %, indicating moderate mineral composition; this value is lower than that of Pila ampullacea (5.54%) and B. costula (5.17%) (Obande et al., 2013; Rout et al., 2022) [17] , but higher than B. dissimilis (3.82%) (Debnath et al., 2016) [9] and Haliotis discus hannai (3.6%) (Zou et al., 2023) [29] . These findings highlight that B. bengalensis edible muscle tissue is a nutritionally valuable, low-fat, moderate-protein food source with appreciable mineral content.

b. Amino acid profiling

A total of 17 amino acids were identified in the edible muscle of Bellamya bengalensis, as presented in Table 1. These comprised essential amino acids (EAAs), amino acids associated with desirable taste attributes, and those known for their antioxidant properties, indicating a nutritionally rich and functionally diverse profile. The edible tissue was particularly characterized by a strong presence of tyrosine and histidine, which were also reported in other freshwater molluscs such as Lamellidens marginalis (Ahirwal et al., 2022) [3] . The presence of these amino acids is noteworthy, as tyrosine plays a role in neurotransmitter synthesis, while histidine contributes to buffering capacity and exhibits antioxidant potential, thereby enhancing the functional importance of the edible tissue. In addition to these, the presence of essential amino acids such as lysine, methionine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, and histidine reflects the high nutritional quality of B. bengalensis muscle protein. Amino acids including glycine, alanine, and proline are known to contribute to characteristic taste properties such as sweetness and umami, which may improve consumer acceptability (Puspitasari et al., 2022; Sonowal & Kardong, 2020) [21,25] . Furthermore, the occurrence of antioxidative amino acids, particularly cysteine, histidine, and tyrosine, suggests potential healthpromoting benefits associated with oxidative stress mitigation (Dey et al., 2021) [10] . Compared to marine molluscs, B. bengalensis exhibits a relatively balanced amino acid profile, highlighting its potential as a sustainable and nutritionally valuable protein source for human consumption and functional food applications (Moniruzzaman et al., 2021; Vaishnav et al., 2025) [14,27] .

Category

Amino acids Essential amino acids (EAAs) Histidine, Lysine, Methionine, Valine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Phenylalanine Non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) Arginine, Glycine, Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Alanine, Proline, Serine, Tyrosine, Cysteine Taste-related amino acids Glycine, Alanine, Proline, Glutamic acid, Aspartic acid, Arginine Antioxidative amino acids Histidine, Tyrosine, Cysteine, Methionine

Conclusion

The edible muscle tissue of Bellamya bengalensis exhibits a nutritionally desirable profile with high moisture, moderate protein, low fat, and notable mineral content. Its balanced composition of essential, taste-related, and antioxidative amino acids highlights its functional and health-promoting potential. These findings support its suitability as a

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgmentsThe authors express their sincere gratitude to the Dean, College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University (CAU), Lembucherra, Tripura for providing the necessary facilities and resources to conduct this research.

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