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Nutraceutical properties of the marine macroalga Gayralia oxysperma

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Published/Copyright: September 10, 2012
Botanica Marina
From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 55 Issue 6

Abstract

We analyzed Gayralia oxysperma (Monostromataceae, Ulvales) from coastal waters in India for nutrients and biochemicals including nutritionally important fatty acids and active radical scavenging properties. This seaweed had moderately high lipid and other biochemical components, which were comparable to levels in other nutritionally rich seaweeds. The species is an important source of Ca (2.74 mg g-1) and other essential elements with sufficiently low (below permissible limits) contaminant trace metals. There were four major fatty acids: palmitic acid (PA, C16; 34.6%), linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n-6; 15.8%), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3n-6; 15%) and stearic acid (SA, C18; 9.6%). Totally saturated fatty acids predominated (TSFA, 57%), followed by polyunsaturated acids (PUFA, 39%); the monounsaturated fraction (MUFA) was smallest (3.8%). Antioxidant potential assessed through phenolic content, di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophen­yl) iminoazanium (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), reducing potential and metal chelating ability indicated a dose-dependent relationship of increasing activity with increased concentration. Thus, G. oxysperma has essential properties of nutritional, antioxidant and medicinal value for its use in dietary and pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: antioxidant properties; fatty acids; mineral content; nutritional value; seaweeds
Corresponding author: Tanaji G. Jagtap, Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dona Paula, Goa-403004, India
Received: 2012-5-22
Accepted: 2012-8-14
Published Online: 2012-09-10
Published in Print: 2012-12-01

©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Mini review
  4. The diversity and importance of fungi associated with marine sponges
  5. Research articles
  6. Chemical analysis of exopolysaccharide fractions and lipid compounds of the microalga Heterosigma akashiwo grown in vitro
  7. Nutraceutical properties of the marine macroalga Gayralia oxysperma
  8. Hormone-autonomous cell culture from cotydelonary tissue of the marine plant Cymodocea nodosa
  9. Development and evaluation of an automated digital image analysis software for obtaining seagrass leaf metrics
  10. Factors associated with moderate blooms of Pyrodinium bahamense in shallow and restricted subtropical lagoons in the Gulf of California
  11. Species composition and spatial variability of macroalgal assemblages on biogenic reefs in the northern Adriatic Sea
  12. Short communications
  13. Phototactic responses of Elachista antarctica (Phaeophyceae) spores of different ages across a broad irradiance range using new motion analysis software
  14. Southern expansion of the brown alga Colpomenia peregrina Sauvageau (Scytosiphonales) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean
https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2012-0161
Keywords for this article
antioxidant properties; fatty acids; mineral content; nutritional value; seaweeds

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Mini review
  4. The diversity and importance of fungi associated with marine sponges
  5. Research articles
  6. Chemical analysis of exopolysaccharide fractions and lipid compounds of the microalga Heterosigma akashiwo grown in vitro
  7. Nutraceutical properties of the marine macroalga Gayralia oxysperma
  8. Hormone-autonomous cell culture from cotydelonary tissue of the marine plant Cymodocea nodosa
  9. Development and evaluation of an automated digital image analysis software for obtaining seagrass leaf metrics
  10. Factors associated with moderate blooms of Pyrodinium bahamense in shallow and restricted subtropical lagoons in the Gulf of California
  11. Species composition and spatial variability of macroalgal assemblages on biogenic reefs in the northern Adriatic Sea
  12. Short communications
  13. Phototactic responses of Elachista antarctica (Phaeophyceae) spores of different ages across a broad irradiance range using new motion analysis software
  14. Southern expansion of the brown alga Colpomenia peregrina Sauvageau (Scytosiphonales) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean
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