Methyl jasmonate enhances phlorotannin production in the brown seaweed Ecklonia cava

Abstract

Ecklonia cava is a brown seaweed widely distributed on the coasts of Korea and Japan and is used as food ingredient, animal feed, fertilizer, and medicine. E. cava contains a variety of compounds including carotenoids, fucoidans, and phlorotannins that play diverse biological and ecological roles. The marine algal polyphenols, the phlorotannins, found only in the brown algae have greater potential antioxidant activity than the polyphenols from terrestrial plants. Considering their significance in industrial applications, it would be beneficial to develop a simple method that can enhance amounts of phlorotannins in such algae. By adding 2 μM methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to the postharvest culture for 24 h, the crude phlorotannin content was increased by 156 %. The contents of individual phlorotannins, such as dieckol, phlorotannin 974A, phlorotannin 974B, and phlorofucofuroeckol-A were also increased by approximately 224, 176, 227, and 181 %, respectively. Additionally, MeJA treatment significantly enhanced the viability of E. cava tissue, suggesting that MeJA may prevent postharvest decay, at least in the short term.