Biochemical composition of two red seaweed species grown on the Brazilian coast

BACKGROUND: Algae species have been used as an important source of food because they are highly nutritive considering their vitamin, protein, mineral, fiber, essential fatty acid and carbohydrate contents. However, a large number of seaweeds have been poorly studied, especially Brazilian species. Two red macroalgae species from the Brazilian coast ( Plocamium brasiliense and Ochtodes secundiramea ) were assessed with respect to their total lipid, fatty acid, total nitrogen, protein, amino acid and total carbohydrate contents. RESULTS: The total lipid contents (dry weight) were 36.3 and 35.4 g kg −1 ; fatty acid contents were 9.3 and 12.1 g kg −1 ; total nitrogen contents were 37.4 and 24.9 g kg −1 ; protein contents were 157.2 and 101.0 g kg −1 ; amino acid contents were 127.5 and 91.4 g kg −1 ; and total carbohydrate contents were 520.3 and 450.7 g kg −1 for P. brasiliense and O. secundiramea , respectively. CONCLUSION: Considering these compositions, both algae species were determined to have sources of protein, essential amino acids and carbohydrates similar to the edible seaweeds Laminaria japonica and Palmaria palmata . Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry