Abstract
The Chinese turtle trade is the primary threat to endangered turtle populations throughout Asia, primarily because of the long tradition of consuming turtles in China. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) promote nutritional and medicinal benefits from eating turtles, especially those made from hardshell species. We tested these claims by determining the nutritional value of turtle products (meat, fat and shell) in five species of geoemydid turtle, Cuora trifasciata , C. mouhotii , Mauremys mutica , M. sinensis and Geoemyda spengleri . Nutritional variables such as the composition of amino acids, fatty acids and mineral elements were analyzed to determine the relative nutritional quality of turtle products. Our study refutes TCM claims about products made from hardshell turtles. Alternative animal products should be substituted to obtain similar minerals, amino acids and fatty acids. Balancing the cultural use of turtles with their conservation status remains a major challenge.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 173-187 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Applied Herpetology |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
The authors are grateful for the assistance of Wang Jichao, Wang Zhiwei, Guo Yunjun, and Zeng Xiang Yu in Hainan Normal University and Wang Jie in Beijing Normal University. The authors would like to thank two reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This is University of California Museum of Paleontology Contribution #1960.Funding
This study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30660026), Hainan key project of science and technology, and the EAZA Shellshock Turtle and Tortoise Conservation Campaign.