This study investigated the variations in proximate compositions of the shell and flesh Nematopaemon hastatus shrimps (crayfish). The results showed that the protein, carbohydrate and moisture contents in the flesh (54.3%; 24.12%; 65.30%) were higher than those of the shell (42.17%; 22.10%; 64.88%), respectively. The highest amounts of lipid and ash were found in shell, being 5.6%; 26.4%, respectively compared to the flesh values (3.28%; 21.22%). The protein to moisture ratio (P/M) was higher (0.8) for flesh than for shell (0.6) indicating higher quality of the latter. Study further indicates that the shell is a good source of inorganic minerals while the flesh is rich in nutrients, protein and metabolizable energy. Strong relationships were recorded between protein and body size (R2 = 0.421), crude fiber and body size (R2 = 0.501) at p< 0.05. The nutritional data of N. hastatus shrimps indicates that with proper dietary planning mothers, children and the aged could take advantage of its rich protein, yet very low fat and calorie content as a healthy food, snacks or food ingredient as part of the main meal. Furthermore, its use feed formulation for children and animals are recommended.
Keywords: Binary Coefficient, Calories, Dietary Planning, Nutritional Values
