The study was conducted to determine the mineral contents of some selected shellfishes from Okpoka Creek in River State. Copper, iron, manganese, calcium and sodium were quantified using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric method and the concentration of the minerals varied between the different species of shellfishes. High amount of calcium was recorded in C. guanhumi (212.33±1.45mg/100g) while the lowest was observed in T. fuscatus (48.39±1.4mg/100g). The manganese content was higher in T. coronata (1.82±0.10 mg/100g) and lower in T. fuscatus (0.25±0.11mg/100g). Meanwhile the iron content was more in C. gasar (29.5±0.5mg/100g) and lower in C. amnicola (8.07±1.485mg/100g). However, T. coronate showed higher content of copper (10.15±0.17mg/100g) while the lowest copper content was observed in T. fuscatus (2.15±0.43m g/100g). C. amnicola (115.9±0.26mg/100g) recorded the highest amount of sodium while T. coronate (17.43±0.11mg/100g) recorded the least sodium content. The results suggest that these shellfishes are nutritious and are valuable additions to our diet.
Keywords: Calcium, Copper, Iron, Manganese and Zinc, Shellfish
