Buccinum undatum
1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.
A large predatory marine snail eaten boiled in Britain and Ireland, in Korean and Japanese cooking, and around the French coast. The USDA entry is the raw unspecified animal; the meat is firm and needs long, gentle cooking to soften.
Also known as Common whelk, Buccin, Sea snail, Tsubugai
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.
Evidence is limited for whelk in human research. It is a lean, protein-dense shellfish, but nothing beyond composition data has been published on it.
Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.
AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.
| Nutrient | Amount | % DV |
|---|---|---|
| Macronutrients | ||
| Calories | 137 kcal | 7% |
| Protein | 23.8 g | 48% |
| Total fat | 0.4 g | 1% |
| Carbohydrate | 7.76 g | 3% |
| Fibre | 0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 0 g | — |
| Water | 66 g | — |
| Fats | ||
| Saturated fat | 0.031 g | 0% |
| Monounsaturated fat | 0.028 g | — |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 0.023 g | — |
| Cholesterol | 65 mg | 22% |
| EPA (omega-3) | 0.0040 g | — |
| DHA (omega-3) | 0.0060 g | — |
| DPA (omega-3) | 0 g | — |
| Linoleic acid (omega-6) | 0.0040 g | — |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin A | 26 µg | 3% |
| Vitamin C | 4 mg | 4% |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg | 0% |
| Vitamin E | 0.13 mg | 1% |
| Vitamin K | 0.1 µg | 0% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.026 mg | 2% |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.107 mg | 8% |
| Niacin (B3) | 1.05 mg | 7% |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.208 mg | 4% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.342 mg | 20% |
| Folate | 6 µg | 2% |
| Vitamin B12 | 9.07 µg | 378% |
| Choline | 65 mg | 12% |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium | 57 mg | 4% |
| Iron | 5.03 mg | 28% |
| Magnesium | 86 mg | 20% |
| Phosphorus | 141 mg | 11% |
| Potassium | 347 mg | 7% |
| Sodium | 206 mg | 9% |
| Zinc | 1.63 mg | 15% |
| Copper | 1.03 mg | 114% |
| Manganese | 0.447 mg | 19% |
| Selenium | 44.8 µg | 81% |
| Other measured compounds | ||
| Beta-carotene | 0 µg | — |
| Alpha-carotene | 0 µg | — |
| Lycopene | 0 µg | — |
| Lutein + zeaxanthin | 0 µg | — |
| Caffeine | 0 mg | — |
| Ash | 2 g | — |
Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Source record: Mollusks, whelk, unspecified, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 171983).
% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.
Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.
Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.
Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.
Worth knowing
Whelks of the genus Neptunea carry tetramethylammonium, or tetramine, in their salivary glands. Eating them without removing the glands causes headache, dizziness, double vision and unsteadiness within about an hour. The compound is heat-stable, so cooking does not help; commercial processing removes the glands, and this is a recognised hazard for people gathering and preparing whelks themselves.
Allergy
Gastropods belong to the mollusc allergen group and reactions can be severe. Whelk allergens have been characterised in patients with shellfish allergy.
Worth knowing
Like other marine molluscs, whelks can accumulate paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins and cadmium, and they fall under the same harvest-area monitoring as bivalves in most regulated fisheries.