Chemical composition of some seaweed from Mediterranean Sea coast, Egypt

Ghada F El-Said,Amany El-Sikaily

doi:10.1007/s10661-012-3009-y

Ghada F El-Said, Amany El-Sikaily

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-3009-y

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Abstract

This study pointed to the assessment of the chemical composition (F, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Cr, Cd, and carbohydrate) of different marine seaweeds (red, green, and brown) from the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea coast. The results showed that green seaweeds supplied better calcium sources than the red and brown ones. Also, red and brown seaweeds showed higher averages of Na and K than that in green species and these seaweeds could play an important role in the electrolyte balance in humans. On the other hand, green seaweeds gave the highest average carbohydrate concentration; thus, these green species could be used as a source of polysaccharides. Ion quotient values for almost seaweed species were between 1.4 and 4.0, so they can reduce hypertension, preeclampsia, and heart disease in human beings. Interestingly, the calculated hazard quotient of elements was below 1. Accordingly, these seaweed species were of high quality and safety and might be used in the field of nutrition.

Highlights

Marine seaweeds comprise few thousand of species and they represent a considerable part of the littoral biomass
Red seaweeds varieties consist of different typical carbohydrates kinds including: floridean starch (α-1,4-bindingglucan), cellulose, xylan, and mannan
The typical carbohydrates in brown seaweeds varieties consist of fucoidan, laminaran (β-1,3-glucan), cellulose, alginates, and mannitol

Summary

Introduction

Marine seaweeds comprise few thousand of species and they represent a considerable part of the littoral biomass. Seaweeds are known as a highly nutritive food containing vitamin, protein, mineral, fiber contents, and essential fatty acids (Ortiz et al 2006). They were traditionally used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean diet since ancient times (Dawczynski et al 2007). Red seaweeds varieties consist of different typical carbohydrates kinds including: floridean starch (α-1,4-bindingglucan), cellulose, xylan, and mannan Their watersoluble fiber fraction is formed by sulfur-containing galactans, e.g., agar and carrageenan (Jimenez-Escrig and Sanchez-Muniz 2000). Physiologically active of the extracted substances from various seaweeds have been studied (Murata and Environ Monit Assess (2013) 185:6089–6099

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