Whelk facts and health benefits

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8 years ago

Buccinum undatum is a sea snail found on the coastal areas of Northern Atlantic Ocean and Eastern coast as well as western coast. It survives on the cold water containing 2 to 3 percent of salt content. The whelk is 11 centimeters long. The sexes are separate. The breeding takes place from October to May. Reproduction exists by internal fertilization which promotes the production of egg capsules for the protection of eggs. The egg is laid in whole capsule packets. The whelk has the life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. They are carnivores which feed on worms, mussels, crustaceans and molluscs. It is used for food by humans or other animals. It is also known as Sea wash balls, Buckie, Common Northern Whelk, Common whelk, Sinuous whelk, Waved whelk and Waved buccinum. The body is solid, ventricose, ovate-conical shaped measuring 10 cm in height and 6 cm wide.

History

It belongs to normal benthic fauna of North Sea. It is found in sea at deeper depths. It is available on France, United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway and other Northwest European countries. It is unable to survive above the temperature of 29°C and prefer colder temperatures.

Whelk Facts

Whelk facts and health benefits Quick Facts
Name:	Whelk facts and health benefits
Scientific Name:	Buccinum undatum
Origin	It belongs to normal benthic fauna of North Sea. It is found in sea at deeper depths.
Colors	Pale, white, reddish or yellowish
Shapes	Solid, ventricose, ovate-conical; Height: 10 cm; Width: 6 cm
Calories	234 Kcal./cup
Major nutrients	Vitamin B-12 (642.50%) Copper (194.56%) Selenium (138.55%) Tryptophan (119.32%) Iron (106.88%)
Health benefits	Treat Alzheimer's, Slows aging process, Brain functions, Hair health, Transports oxygen

Name	Whelk
Scientific Name	Buccinum undatum
Native	It belongs to normal benthic fauna of North Sea. It is found in sea at deeper depths. It is available on France, United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway and other Northwest European countries. It is unable to survive above the temperature of 29°C and prefer colder temperatures
Common Names	Sea wash balls, Buckie, Common Northern Whelk, Common whelk, Sinuous whelk, Waved whelk, Waved buccinum
Name in Other Languages	Afrikaans: Wulk Albanian: Puçërr Arabic: حلزون [halzun] Armenian: Whelk Azerbaijani: Whelk Basque: Whelk Belarusian: вугор Bengali: Mukhēra braṇa (মুখের ব্রণ) Bosnian: Whelk Breton: Kilhog-mor Bulgarian: pŭpka (пъпка) Catalan: Buccino Cebuano: Whelk Chichewa: Whelk Chinese: Qīngchūn dòu (青春痘) Croatian: Whelk Czech: Whelk Danish: Konksnegl, Konk Deu: Gemeine Wellhornschnecke, Wellhorn, Wellhornschnecke Dutch: wulk, kinkhoorn English: Whelk, Common whelk, buckie, common northern whelk, common whelk, edible European whelk, waved whelk, whelk Esperanto: Whelk Estonian: Vinn Faroese: Agngágga Filipino: Welk Finnish: Torvisimpukka, Kuningaskotilo Fra: Buccin commun, buccin ondé, buccin, bulot, comteux French: Buccin, buccin commun, buccin ondé, Bulot, comteux Galician: Bucios Georgian: Whelk German: Wellhornschnecke, Wellhorn Greek: Eídos speiroeidoús konchýliou (είδος σπειροειδούς κογχύλιου) Gujarati: Gōkaḷagāya jēvī śaṅkhalāmāṁ rahētī dariyā’i māchalī (ગોકળગાય જેવી શંખલામાં રહેતી દરિયાઇ માછલી) Haitian Creole: Buksen Hausa: Whelk Hindi: Vilk (विल्क) Hebrew: Shblul (שַׁבְּלוּל) Hmong: Whelk Hungarian: Ehető kürtös csiga, Közönséges kürtcsiga Icelandic: Whelk, Beitukóngur Igbo: Whelk Indonesian: Jerawat Irish: Cuachma Italian: Buccino, Buccina, Buccinum undatum, buccino comune Japanese: Ko katamari (小塊) Javanese: Whelk Kannada: Śaṅkha mīnu (ಶಂಖ ಮೀನು) Kazakh: Whelk Khmer: Whelk Korean: Ppyoluji (뾰루지) Latin: Whelk Lao: Whelk Latvian: Molusks Lithuanian: Bukcina Macedonian: Whelk Malagasy: Whelk Malay: Whelk Malayalam: Vhelk (വ്ഹെല്ക്) Maltese: Bronja Maori: Whelk Marathi: Cābakācā kinvā chaḍīcā vaḷa (चाबकाचा किंवा छडीचा वळ) Mongolian: Whelk Myanmar (Burmese): Whelk Nepali: Whelk Norwegian: Whelk, kongsnegl, kongsnigel Persian: صدف حلزونی, حلزون نفیر معمولی Polish: Trądzik, Trąbik zwyczajny Portuguese: Whelk, Buzo, Búzio Romanian: Melc de mare Russian: Pryshch (прыщ), Obyknovennyy buktsinum (Обыкновенный букцинум) Serbian: Vhelk (вхелк) Sesotho: Whelk Sinhala: Whelk Slovak: Pupienok Slovenian: Valovita blatarka Somali: Whelk Spanish: Buccino, Bocina, Caracolillo de Bruselas Swahili: Whelk Swedish: Whelk, Valthornssnäcka Tajik: Whelk Tamil: Mukapparu (முகப்பரு) Telugu: Whelk Thai: H̄xy ḥwĕlkh (หอยฮเว็ลค) Turkish: Deniz salyangozu, Salyangoz Ukrainian: Pryshch (прищ) Urdu: Whelk Uzbek: Bo’jama Vietnamese: Whelk Welsh: Cregyn moch Yiddish: ווהעלק Yoruba: Whelk Zulu: Whelk
Habitat	Carnivorous, neogastropod mollusc
Feeds On	Polychaete worms, bivalves, mussels
Breeding	October-May
Lifespan	10 years
Predators	Cod, sea stars, wolfish, man
Shape & Size	Solid, ventricose, ovate-conical; Height: 10 cm; Width: 6 cm
Shell Color	Pale, white, reddish or yellowish
Whorls	7-8, convex, crossed by oblique folds, waved, thick
Major Nutrition	Vitamin B-12 (Cobalamine) 15.42 µg (642.50%) Copper, Cu 1.751 mg (194.56%) Selenium, Se 76.2 µg (138.55%) Tryptophan 0.525 g (119.32%) Iron, Fe 8.55 mg (106.88%) Threonine 1.816 g (103.18%) Leucine 3.236 g (87.55%) Isoleucine 1.407 g (84.15%) Valine 1.764 g (83.52%) Protein 40.53 g (81.06%)
Health Benefits	Treat Alzheimer’s Slows aging process Brain functions Hair health Transports oxygen Strengthen immunity Prevent cramps Repair cells Eliminate free radicals Provides energy
Calories in 3 oz. (85 gm.)	234 Kcal.
Precautions	The toxic gland should be removed. It should be consumed in limited quantity. Allergic people should avoid it.
How to Eat	It is used to prepare sushi and sashimi. It is used for making Bún ốc – vermicelli. It is served with cold noodles or salad. Vinegar is sprinkled in Whelk or with butter or slice of bread.
Other Facts	The color of whelk is dependent on its food. It is confused with Conchs.

Nutritional value

A serving size of 85 grams of whelk contains 27.2 g of moisture, 234 calories, 40.53 of protein, 0.68 g of total lipid fat, 3.4 g of ash and 13.19 g of carbohydrate. It also offers 642.50% of DV of Vitamin B12, 194.56% of DV of copper, 138.55% of selenium, 119.32% of tryptophan, 106.88% of DV of iron, 103.18% of threonine, 87.55% of DV of leucine, 84.15% of DV of isoleucine, 83.52% of DV of valine, 81.06% of DV of protein, 74.46% of DV of lysine, 67.37% of DV of histidine, 42.46% of DV of vitamin B6, 34.76%of DV of magnesium, 34.29% of DV of phosphorus, 32.91% of manganese, 25.18% of DV of zinc, 23.33% of DV of sodium, 14% of DV of riboflavin, 12.55% of DV of potassium, 10.60% of niacin and 10.15% of carbohydrate.

Habitat

Finding a whelk depends on the species you’re looking for. In general, whelks may be found in many parts of the world, and are typically found on sandy or muddy bottoms, from shallow tide pools out to waters several hundred feet deep.

Feeding

As we all know that Whelks are carnivores, and normally feed on crustaceans, mollusks, worms and even eat other whelks. They can drill a hole into the shell of their prey with their radula, or may wrap their foot around the hinged shells of their prey and use their own shell as a wedge to force the shells open, then insert their proboscis into the shell and consume the animal inside.

Reproduction

Whelks reproduce by sexual reproduction with internal fertilization. Some, like the channeled and knobbed whelks, produce a string of egg capsules that maybe 2-3 feet long, and each capsule has 20-100 eggs inside which hatch into miniature whelks. Waved whelks produce a mass of egg capsules which look like a pile of egg cases.

The egg capsule allows the young whelk embryos to develop and provides protection. Once they have developed, the eggs hatch inside the capsule, and the juvenile whelks leave via an opening.

Whelk Image Gallery

Cooked-whelks-recipe

Eggs-of-Whelk

Knobbed-whelk

Shells-of-Whelk

Sketch-of-Whelk

Whelk

Health Benefits of Whelk

Whelk is an excellent source of essential fatty acids that prevents the chances of cancer, heart ailments if consumed in moderate amounts. The seafood lovers would like this. It provides vitamins, proteins and minerals along with low amount of fat. It does not increase the cholesterol of blood. Due to the low content of calories, it is effective for weight loss.

1. Treat Alzheimer’s

Cobalamine helps to treat Alzheimer’s disease which shows the symptoms such as cognitive degeneration and confusion. The study shows that Alzheimer’s patients has low content of Vitamin B12 in the body. (1)

2. Slows aging process

Copper helps to prevent cell membrane from the damage of free radicals which attack organs that are the cause for age spots, wrinkles, macular degeneration, cancer and kidney ailments. (2)

3. Brain functions

Iron helps to increase the development of brain. It aids the supply of oxygen to the brain as it uses about 20% of oxygen. It promotes the cognitive activity and formation of neural pathways that helps to prevent from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The adequate intake of iron as well as oxygenation of brain is vital. (3)

4. Hair health

Protein maintains the hair health and prevents its damage. The study shows that it is essential for the growth of hairs. With its benefits, it is used in conditioners. (4) (5)

5. Transports oxygen

Iron assists in transporting oxygen to the body cells which assist the organs to perform its various functions. (6)

6. Strengthen immunity

Pyridoxine is essential for the immune health in the body. It assists the body to prevent infections which could be victimized in the deficiency of Vitamin B6. (7)

7. Prevent cramps

Magnesium helps to relax kidney stress, muscular tension and back muscles. Its deficiency could cause leg cramps and fatigue. The adequate intake of magnesium helps to treat chronic leg cramps. (8)

8. Repair cells

It helps to repair the body cells from the wear and tear. It promotes the body cells which is essential for the overall health. It helps to form protein and stimulate hormones. (9)

9. Eliminate free radicals

Manganese has antioxidant properties which monitor the free radicals activity that damage human cells and cause cancer. The supplements help to prevent these health conditions. (10)

10. Provides energy

Vitamin B2 is vital for the energy production by supporting metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. (11)

Different Human Uses

Whelks are a popular food. People eat the mollusks’ muscular foot—an example is the Italian dish scungilli, which is made from a whelk’s foot. These animals are also collected for the seashell trade. They may be caught as bycatch (e.g., in lobster traps), and they may be used as bait to catch other marine life, such as cod. Whelk egg cases may be used as a “fishermen’s soap.”

The veined rapa whelk is a non-indigenous species that have been introduced into the U.S. The native habitat of these whelks includes waters in the western Pacific Ocean including the Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and the Bohai Sea. These whelks were introduced into the Chesapeake Bay and may cause damage to native species.