Economic value and nutritional value of carp

For more than two thousand years, carp has been regarded as a top-quality fish. In the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, the poet Yang Ji wrote in a poem: "The spring breeze blows and the rain wets my clothes and skirts, and the green water and red makeup are not as good as the green water, but I am a girl from the Hanyang River, crossing the river to buy Wuchang fish." "Jiangxia County Chronicle" in the Tongzhi Period of the Qing Dynasty Records: The carp produced in Huanghujitou, Wuchang, "has a unique and delicious taste. After the beginning of winter, picklers rush to buy it. Other provinces call it Chu fish." There is a proverb in the Huanghuai area that "there is no feast without old carp". The ancients also used carps as a substitute for letters. In the ancient Yuefu "Drinking Horses in the Great Wall Grottoes" there is: "A guest came from afar and left me a pair of carps; I asked the boy to cook the carp, and there was a ruler-printed script in it." To this day, people still retain the custom of visiting relatives and friends to send carps as a show of respect and congratulations during festivals. Carp is regarded as a symbol of hard work, kindness, perseverance and good fortune. There are many New Year pictures that use carp as a sign of good luck. The myth of "carp jumping over the dragon's gate" and the story of "chasing fish" are widely spread among the people.

It is said that in the Yuan Dynasty, China had close commercial exchanges with various countries in Central Asia, and the Persians brought carp back to Persia. In 1150, the European Crusades brought carp from Persia to Austria, and then gradually transplanted it to Western Europe. It moved to Hungary in 1367; to England in 1496; to Prussia in 1560, and then to Sweden; to Russia in 1729; and to the United States from Europe in 1830. Today, carp has become a worldwide farmed fish.

Carp is an ornamental fish. According to legend, it began during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty when Emperor Shenzong raised red carp in the imperial garden. At that time, there was a minister named Yu Fanxue who had made great achievements in "hunting on behalf of heaven". When he retired and returned to his hometown, the emperor specially rewarded him with red carps and ordered him to take them back to his hometown to raise them. This fish is shaped like a purse, hence the name "purse red carp" and is a specialty of Wuyuan, Jiangxi. Jiangxi Xingguo red carp and the mirror carp cultivated in many places are carp species that were developed later. Red carp was introduced to Japan in the early days, and more than a hundred years ago, the Japanese improved it into scarlet carp. It was initially called "color carp" and "flower carp". After World War II, it was renamed "koi" and was regarded as a royal carp. The ornamental fish of the royal family, nobles and prominent officials may be kept in temples and shrines, so they are also called "sacred fish", symbolizing good luck and happiness. The Japanese regard koi as a work of art, known as a "living gem" in the water, and have cultivated precious varieties with high ornamental value such as yellow spots, Taisho three colors, and Showa three colors.

The nutritional composition of carp muscle varies with species and growth stage. The range of changes is: moisture accounts for 75.0-79.6%, protein 14.8-20.5%, fat 1.1-8.7%, and ash 1.0-1.2%. The food value is 1415 calories per kilogram of fish. The edible part accounts for 52.02% of the fish's weight; the caloric value of the total weight is 792.4 kcal per kilogram. Protein contains relatively high levels of several human amino acids (see table below). Each 100 grams of edible part also contains 0.2 grams of sugar, 88-115 kcal of calories, 28.0 mg of calcium, 175-407 mg of phosphorus, 0.5-1.6 mg of iron, and a variety of vitamins.

The meat, gallbladder and blood of carp can be used as medicine. Its meat is sweet and flat in taste, and has the effects of reducing water qi, diuresis and reducing swelling; when used as medicine, it can invigorate the spleen and stomach, facilitate urination, eliminate ascites, eliminate edema, relieve cough and asthma, and promote milk production. In the treatment of portal cirrhosis, chronic nephritis, marasmus and edema, edema in pregnant women, blocked or low milk supply, general weakness, irregular menstruation in women, waist pain, dizziness and heartbeat, loss of appetite, bleeding in women, coughing and asthma, and athlete's foot. It has good effects on pain, difficulty walking and other symptoms. Its blood can cure skewness of the mouth and eyes. Its bile nature and taste are bitter, cold, and poisonous, and it has the effects of reducing heat, inflammation, and improving eyesight; it can treat eye heat, redness, swelling, blue blindness, deafness, and acute and chronic otitis media. Although carp gall can cure diseases, the bile is poisonous. This bile toxin can withstand heat and will cause poisoning if swallowed raw or cooked fish gall. The poisoning process mainly affects the digestive system and urinary system, causing gastrointestinal symptoms, liver and kidney failure in a short period of time, often combined with cardiovascular and nervous system diseases, causing cerebral edema and toxic shock, sometimes despite measures to improve kidney function. It is also difficult to be effective, and severe cases can cause death.

Carp is widely distributed throughout the country. Although there are many varieties and different shapes in various places, they are actually the same species. There are only 15 regional species living in the southwest region, of which 11 species are distributed in lakes in Yunnan and 2 species are found in Xijiang, Guangxi. , 1 species in Qinjiang and Hainan, Guangxi, and 1 species in Qionghai, Sichuan. In recent years, with the rapid development of bioengineering technology, especially the birth of fast-growing transgenic carp, the growth rate of carp has increased by more than 140% and the taste is more delicious. The commercialization of transgenic carp will open up new opportunities for carp breeding. Broad prospects.

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