Muscle quality of the FFRC no. 2 strain Cyprinus carpio with different body colors

To investigate the differences in muscle quality between common carp (Cyprinus carpio) with different body colors, the present study focused on the blue-gray (BG) and whole red (WR) individuals of the FFRC no. 2 strain C. carpio. The objective was to evaluate the disparities in muscle quality between these two color variants of the C. carpio. Muscle quality variations were assessed by examining parameters such as muscle color, amino acid composition, fatty acid content, and texture characteristics. The results showed that the b* value of BG was significantly higher than that of WR (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in fillet yield, moisture, crude lipid, crude protein, and ash content of the muscle between the two color groups (P>0.05); seventeen amino acids were detected in the muscles of different body color C. carpio, including 7 essential amino acids and 10 non-essential amino acids. Comparisons of glycine (Gly), proline (Pro), histidine (His), and cysteine (Cys) showed no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05), while those of other amino acids showed significant (P<0.05) or extremely significant (P<0.01) differences between the two groups. There was no significant difference in ΣEAA/ΣTAA between the two groups (P>0.05); the content of myristic acid (C14:0) in BG was significantly higher than that in WR (P<0.05). BG exhibited higher levels of saturated fatty acids compared to WR, while WR had higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids than BG. Both BG and WR showed similar levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The springiness and chewiness of the muscle in WR were significantly higher than those in BG (P<0.05). The research results show that body color has an impact on the muscle quality of C. carpio. This study provides basic data and reference for the improvement of meat quality traits in fish.