Abstract

The nutritional composition of the edible seaweeds Codium fragile, Gracilaria chilensis and Macrocystis pyrifera was determined, including amino acid and fatty acid contents along with tocol and carotenoid contents. The results indicated that the three algae C. fragile, G. chilensis and M. pyrifera showed a high range of protein contents (13.7-10.8%), amino acid contents (1879.6-1417.7 µg/100 g dry algae) and a low content in lipids (0.7-15.0%). The most abundant fatty acids in C. fragile and G. chilensis were linolenic, oleic, and linoleic acid. d-Tocopherol and a-tocopherol (677.8 and 453.5 µg/g lipid, respectively) were found in C. fragile, while in G. chilensis and M. pyrifera, ?-tocotrienol and a-tocopherol (263.5 and 1327.7 µg/g lipid, respectively) were found. In addition, in C. fragile and G. chilensis ß-carotene was the principal carotenoid found (197.9 and 113.7 µg/g dry algae, respectively) compared with M. pyrifera (17.4 µg/g dry algae). The composition of macronutrients (minerals, carbohydrate-type dietetic fiber, proteins; low in lipids) and micronutrients (essential amino acids, PUFA of balanced n-6/n-3 proportion, ß-carotene and a-tocopherol as source of vitamins A and E), corroborate the nutritional and biological potential of the studied algae, which constitute useful raw materials for the development of diets or ingredients for human and animal nutrition. © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.