Seaweeds as Valuable Sources of Essential Fatty Acids for Human Nutrition

The overexploitation of terrestrial habitats, combined with the ever-growing demand for food, has led to the search for alternative food sources. The importance of seaweeds as food sources has been growing, and their potential as sources of fatty acids (FA) make seaweeds an interesting feedstock for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-05, Vol.18 (9), p.4968
Main Authors: Rocha, Carolina P., Pacheco, Diana, Cotas, João, Marques, João C., Pereira, Leonel, Gonçalves, Ana M. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Asparagopsis armata
Biomass
Calliblepharis jubata
Chondracanthus teedei lusitanicus
Colpomenia peregrina
Dietary intake
Dietary supplements
Esters
Fatty acids
Food
Food industry
Food sources
Functional foods & nutraceuticals
Gas chromatography
Gene expression
Gracilaria gracilis
Grateloupia turuturu
Health promotion
Human nutrition
Lipids
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
Nutrition
Overexploitation
Sargassum muticum
Seaweeds
Terrestrial environments
Undaria pinnatifida
Variance analysis
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Summary:The overexploitation of terrestrial habitats, combined with the ever-growing demand for food, has led to the search for alternative food sources. The importance of seaweeds as food sources has been growing, and their potential as sources of fatty acids (FA) make seaweeds an interesting feedstock for the food and nutraceutical industries. The aim of this study is to assess the potential of five red seaweeds (Asparagospis armata, Calliblepharis jubata, Chondracanthus teedei var. lusitanicus, Gracilaria gracilis, and Grateloupia turuturu) and three brown seaweeds (Colpomenia peregrina, Sargassum muticum and Undaria pinnatifida), harvested in central Portugal, as effective sources of essential FA for food or as dietary supplements. FA were extracted from the biomass, transmethylated to methyl esters, and analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. G. gracilis presented the highest content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (41.49 mg·g−1), whereas C. jubata exhibited the highest content of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) (28.56 mg·g−1); the three G. turuturu life cycle stages presented prominent SFA and HUFA contents. Omega-6/omega-3 ratios were assessed and, in combination with PUFA+HUFA/SFA ratios, it is suggested that C. jubata and U. pinnatifida may be the algae with highest nutraceutical potential, promoting health benefits and contributing to a balanced dietary intake of fatty acids.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18094968