Fatty acid composition of marine macroalgae from the Black Sea and Dardanelles

Abstract

The fatty acid (FA) composition was determined in 14 species of marine macroalgae belonging to the Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta, which were collected from Şile in the Black Sea and Kepez in the Dardanelles. Generally, polyunsaturated FAs and monounsaturated FAs were major components (50–77%). Total saturated FAs ranged from 22% to 50%, with 16 : 0 as the most abundant saturate (32–38%). Two samples of Cystoseira barbata collected from a different station had some differences from each other in their contents of 18 : 2n-6 and 18 : 3n-3 and in the 18 : 2n-6/20 : 4n-6 ratios. Green algal species had a significantly higher proportion of unsaturated FAs and a significantly lower proportion of saturated FAs than the red and brown algae. The amount of n-3 FAs was significantly higher in Ulva rigita, Chaetomorpha linum, Enteromorpha linza and Gracilaria verrucosa (8.88, 6.44, 5.31 and 5.24, respectively).