Polysaccharides of Algae 58. The polysaccharide composition of the Pacific brown alga Alaria fistulosa P. et R. (Alariaceae, Laminariales)

Abstract

Quantitative determination of mannitol, fucoidan and alginate in different parts of the thallus (the blade, the midrip, the sporophylls, and the stipe with rhizoids) of the brown alga Alaria fistulosa, collected from the coastal waters of Paramushir Island, was carried out. Sporophylls were shown to differ considerably in carbohydrate composition from all other parts of the plant. In particular, the fucoidan content in sporophylls is several times as high as that in the blade. Alginate preparations isolated from sporophylls and from blade have different proportions of monomers (mannuronic acid and guluronic acid residues) and different molecular masses. Fucoidan preparations isolated from these parts of the plant differ slightly in the sulfate content. Their specific feature is a rather high galactose content comparable with the content of fucose. The sporophylls of A. fistulosa may be regarded as a rich source for practical isolation of fucoidan.