Abstract
The amino acid composition of the whole body (edible parts), flesh and exoskeleton of the female common West African fresh water crab Sudananautes africanus africanus was determined on a dry weight basis. The total essential amino acids ranged from 349.8 mg/g to 387.3 mg/g crude protein or from 48.5% to 49.8% of the total amino acid. Both the total amino acid and the total essential amino acid showed no significant differences among the samples at P<0.05. The amino acid score showed that lysine ranged from 0.9 to 1.2, making it a good food fortifier. The predicted protein efficiency ratio was 2.6–3.4, showing that the quality of protein was high. The carbohydrate content was high (57.5–59.1 g/100 g) but the protein was lower (15.7–18.6 g/100 g). The low level of the crude fibre in the flesh will make it good to serve as a food complement.