Phytochemical Compositions of Potentially Commercial Far-East Brown Algae

Abstract

The goals of the present work were to study the phytochemical composition and features of the polysaccharide compositions of the brown algae Undaria pinnatifida and Costaria costata (Laminariaceae) and to evaluate the potential of using them as sources of marine BAC in the medical, chemical and pharmaceutical, and food industries. The water content, total ash, total lipids, total nitrogen, polysaccharides (alginic acid, fucoidan), and mannite were analyzed. Table 1 presents their chemical compositions and indicates that the principal component of the kelp cells was water. The content in C. costata (85.5%) was higher than that in U. pinnatifida. The content of dry substances (15.2%) was higher in U. pinnatifida. Analyses of the phytochemical compositions of C. costata and U. pinnatifida found that the dry substances comprised organic (71.3–75.5%) and mineral (25.5–28.7%) constituents. The organic components consisted of carbohydrates (8.78–9.4%), N-containing compounds (1.0–1.6%), and lipids (0.05–0.16%). The carbohydrates were represented by alginic acid (3.56–4.13%), fucoidan (3.54–4.13%), and mannite (1.09–1.73%). C. costata typically had higher contents of mineral compounds and mannite than U. pinnatifida whereas the latter