194 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL XIII, April, 1959 
the approximate composition, minerals, and 
vitamins of palolo were the same as those 
previously outlined for pandanus (Miller, 
Murai, and Pen, 1956: 9). 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
The composition of palolo is given in Table 
1 along with a familiar protein food, raw beef 
round, for purposes of comparison. Although 
primitive people with a limited food supply 
usually make good use of all foods available, 
the enthusiasm of the Samoans and Fijians 
for palolo seems justified, as the analyses 
prove it to be a food of high nutritive value. 
Palolo has 15 per cent of protein compared 
with about 20 per cent in beef; and the fat 
content is about half that of beef. Palolo has 
three times more calcium, about twice as 
much phosphorus, and about the same quan- 
tity of iron as beef. Beef would furnish no 
vitamin A or carotene, but palolo is an excel- 
lent source, having a greater vitamin A value 
than whole eggs. The thiamine content of 
both foods is low. Palolo has almost four 
times as much riboflavin as beef, but beef 
has almost four times as much niacin as 
palolo. Sufficient material was not available 
and we were not prepared to make analyses 
for additional vitamins or for amino acids. 
TABLE 1 
Composition of Palolo Compared with Beef, 
Per 100 Grams 
PALOLO 
(raw) 
BEEF 
(raw round) 
Water, per cent 
76.2 
69.0 
Protein, gm 
15.1 
19.5 
Fat, gm 
4.9 
11.0 
Crude fiber, gm 
0.78 
0 
Ash, gm 
2.42 
1.0 
Calcium, mg 
37 
11 
Phosphorus, mg 
310 
180 
Iron, mg 
2.9 
2.9 
Vitamin A, I.U 
514 
0 
Carotene, meg 
1,350 
0 
Thiamine, mg 
0.07 
0.08 
Riboflavin, mg 
0.59 
0.17 
Niacin, mg 
1.3 
4.7 
Ascorbic acid, mg 
1.6 
0 
The palolo are eaten in the raw state just as 
they take them from the ocean; they are also 
eaten in the cooked state, and after cooking, 
they may be sun-dried to preserve them for 
future use. In Samoa the palolo are wrapped 
in leaves and cooked in the native oven of 
hot stones, often with coconut cream. 
Mr. Gatty thought that palolo made the 
finest soup he had ever tasted and considered 
it warranted commercial exploitation as an 
Epicurean food. It is said to have a very de- 
licious flavor, something like a cross between 
oyster and lobster, but superior to either. 
Since palolo is a good protein food, rich in 
vitamin A, riboflavin, phosphorus, and iron, 
it seems unfortunate that it cannot be utilized 
to better advantage in the areas where it 
swarms. Because of the extremely short period 
when it can be gathered, the problem of reap- 
ing this nutritious harvest of the sea in any 
quantity will probably always remain a 
difficult one. 
REFERENCES 
VON Brand, T. F. 1927. Stoffbestand und 
Ernahrung einiger Polychaten und anderer 
mariner Wiirmer. Z. vergl. 'Physiol. 5(4): 
643-698. 
Buck, P. H. 1930. Samoan material culture. 
Bui Bishop Mus. 75: 724. 
Burrows, William. 1955. "Palolo.” J. Poly- 
nes. Soc. 64: 137-154. 
Hartman, Olga J. 1958 . Personal commu- 
nication. [Allan Hancock Foundation, Uni- 
versity of Southern California.] 
Kramer, Augustin. 1903. Die Samoa Jmeln, 
Band II, Ethnographic. Stuttgart. Pp. 445. 
Miller, Carey D., Mary Murai, and Flor- 
ence Pen. 1956. The use of pandanus fruit 
as food in Micronesia. Pacific Sci. 9(1): 
3-16. 
Stair, John B. 1897. Palolo, a sea-worm eaten 
by the Samoans. J. Polynes. Soc. 6: 141-144. 
Woodworth, W. McM. 1907. The palolo 
worm, Eunice viridis (Gray). Bull. Mus. 
Comp. ZooL Harp. 51: 3-21. 
