Chondracanthus teedei var. lusitanicus: The Nutraceutical Potential of an Unexploited Marine Resource.

Diana Pacheco,Leonel Pereira,João Cotas,Sandrine Ressurreição,Kiril Bahcevandziev,Andreia Domingues

doi:10.3390/md19100570

Abstract

Presently, there is a high demand for nutritionally enhanced foods, so it is a current challenge to look at new raw food sources that can supplement beneficially the human diet. The nutritional profile and key secondary metabolites of red seaweeds (Rhodophyta) are gaining interest because of this challenge. In this context, the possible use of the red seaweed Chondracanthus teedei var. lusitanicus (Gigartinales) as a novel nutraceutical source was investigated. As a result, we highlight the high mineral content of this seaweed, representing 29.35 g 100 g−1 of its dry weight (DW). Despite the low levels of calcium and phosphorus (0.26 and 0.20 g 100 g−1 DW, respectively), this seaweed is an interesting source of nitrogen and potassium (2.13 and 2.29 g−1 DW, accordingly). Furthermore, the high content of carbohydrates (56.03 g 100 g−1 DW), which acts as dietary fibers, confers a low caloric content of this raw food source. Thus, this study demonstrates that C. teedei var. lusitanicus is in fact an unexploited potential resource with the capability to provide key minerals to the human diet with promising nutraceutical properties.

Highlights

The world’s population is rapidly increasing, placing pressure on traditional food sources, and causing adverse impacts all over the world
On 27 May 2020, the red seaweed Chondracanthus teedei var. lusitanicus was harvested in the Portuguese seashore of Buarcos Bay at Figueira da Foz (40.165867, −8.885556)
The chemical analysis of the red seaweed Chondracanthus teedei var. lusitanicus shows that this species has a favorable nutritional profile for human diet and may have some nutraceutical benefits in lowering several common fast food-related disorders

Summary

Introduction

The world’s population is rapidly increasing, placing pressure on traditional food sources, and causing adverse impacts all over the world. There is a need to discover new raw food sources that can provide vital nutrients and minerals to humans to aid body cell function [1]. There are several records that show that seaweed has been incorporated in the daily diet of coastal populations and cultures in Europe, Japan, and China since ancient times [3,4,5,6]. Europe consumes nearly 97 tons of seaweeds each year, of which the majority are imported [7]. Allied to the need to provide novel nutritious and healthy food sources to ensure global food security, seaweeds are being explored to be included in a list of possible food sources for animal and human diets [8,9]

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