Biochemical Composition and Nutrient Profilling of Selected Brown Seaweeds from West Coast of India

Abstract

Seaweeds have been employed in human and animal diets for centuries. Their nutrient content varies according to the species, seasons, and geographical location. Very little information is available on biochemical properties of the seaweeds from the Maharashtra coast. Thus, in the current study, different species of brown seaweeds were collected from the Maharashtra coast of India, and their biochemical composition was evaluated. The moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fibre,and ash along with nutrient profile such as fatty acid, amino acid, mineral content, and heavy metals content in dry powder of seaweed Spatoglossum asperum, Stoecho spermum marginatum and Iyengaria stellata were analysed. The protein content was observed to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in S. asperum (18.18%). Linoleic acid was abundant among the PUFAs, accounting for about 3.37%, 3.15%, and 2.68%, of the lipid extracted from I. stellata S. asperum, and S. marginatum, respectively. The n-6/n-3 was higher in S. asperum (5.81) followed by I. stellata (1.76) and S. marginatum (1.49). The presence of good biochemical constituents in these seaweeds will help to increase the nutritional value and economic importance of food for human diets. Further, the concentration of heavy metals was found to vary in different seaweed species.