Abstract
This study is evaluating the seasonal lipid and fatty acid composition of the brown seaweed Saccharina latissima. Biomass was sampled throughout the year (bi-monthly) at the commercial cultivation site near a fish farm in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) and at a reference site in Denmark (2013–2014). Generally, there was no difference in the biomass composition between sites; however, significant seasonal changes were found. The lipid concentration varied from 0.62%–0.88% dry weight (DW) in July to 3.33%–3.35% DW in November (p < 0.05) in both sites. The fatty acid composition in January was significantly different from all the other sampling months. The dissimilarities were mainly explained by changes in the relative abundance of 20:5n-3 (13.12%–33.35%), 14:0 (11.07%–29.37%) and 18:1n-9 (10.15%–16.94%). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s) made up more than half of the fatty acids with a maximum in July (52.3%–54.0% fatty acid methyl esters; FAME). This including the most appreciated health beneficial PUFA’s, eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), but also arachidonic (ARA) and stearidonic acid (SDA), which are not found in land vegetables such as cabbage and lettuce. Compared to fat (salmon) and lean fish (cod) this seaweed species contains higher proportions of ARA and SDA, but lower EPA (only cod) and DHA. Conclusively, the season of harvest is important for the choice of lipid quantity and quality, but the marine vegetables provide better sources of EPA, DHA and long-chain (LC)-PUFA’s in general compared to traditional vegetables.
Highlights
Humans and other vertebrates lack the ability to synthesize linoleic (18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) [1]
Appropriate intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)) reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, depression and mental illness and promotes the development of the nervous system [6,7]
Identified fatty acids ranged from 87.0% to 95.9% fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) for all the analyzed samples (Table 1)
Summary
Humans and other vertebrates lack the ability to synthesize linoleic (18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) [1]. Conversion of the precursor α-linolenic acid to the physiologically essential eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) by humans is restricted [2]. Fish have the ability to elongate and desaturate α-linolenic acid into long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), that capacity is generally limited, in marine species [3,4]. LC-PUFA such as EPA and DHA must be supplied in the diet. Appropriate intake of n-3 LC-PUFA reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, depression and mental illness and promotes the development of the nervous system [6,7]. The n-3 LC-PUFA are essential dietary nutrients for good growth and survival of fish [8,9]
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