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Seaweeds are a rich source of health beneficial bioactive nutraceuticals and currently, they are under-utilised in Sri Lanka. Thus, this study is to get an idea about the possibility of utilising seaweed in Sri Lankan food industry. In the present study, elemental composition analysis of Ulva fasciata obtained from 3 locations Mirissa (5°56/40.5// N: 80°27/20.2// E), Point Dondra (5°55/45.7//N: 80°35/02.5// E) and Galle (6°02/01.1// N: 80°12/52.2// E) and red algae varieties Gracilaria edulis and Gracilaria sp. obtained from Kalpitiya (8°15/40.8// N: 79°46/33.9// E and 8°13/35.0// N: 79°43/34.8// E) respectively. The elemental analysis was carried using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. The results revealed that the predominant mineral of U. fasciata obtained from the 3 locations and Gracilaria sp. as calcium. While the predominant mineral in G. edulis was potassium. All the 5 varieties have various concentrations of elements such as K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn. Significantly high lead content was observed in U. fasciata obtained from Point Dondra. The elemental compositions showed variations among the same species obtained from different locations. The results also revealed that seaweed is a good source of certain essential and trace minerals. Keywords: Ulva fasciata, Gracilaria edulis, Gracilaria sp., minerals, seaweeds

Accumulation of non-biodegradable plastics is causing high levels of environmental pollution. Currently, edible and biodegradable films and coatings for food and nutraceutical applications are a fast emerging technology with increased attention among researchers and consumers, which acts as an alternative to these synthetic plastics. Edible coatings are most commonly developed from polysaccharides and proteins. Among polysaccharides, seaweed-based polysaccharides play a vital role. These seaweed-based polysaccharides, which are utilized in the development of edible coatings and films, include Agar, Alginate, and carrageenan. Alginates are extracted from brown algae, while agar and carrageenan are extracted from red algae varieties. These developed coatings and films are commonly applied to extend the shelf life and maintain the desired quality level in food. These films or coatings can be applied to foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products. They improve the quality of the product by retarding moisture loss, reducing lipid oxidation and discoloration, sealing in volatile flavors, and functioning as carriers of food additives such as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. This book chapter discusses the application of seaweed-based biodegradable films and coatings for food and nutraceuticals.

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Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is an important spice. The adulteration of black pepper seeds and powder with papaya seeds, green chili and red chili can be seen and limited studies have been conducted to detect these adulterants. The objectives of the present study were to assess the appropriateness of morphometric methods to discriminate papaya seed and chili adulterations in black pepper and to establish a DNA based strategy to detect these adulterations. A necessary adulteration series of seeds and powders were prepared for the analyses along with commercial samples. The appearance of the seed and powder samples were slightly different but not very distinct among the pure and adulterated samples emphasizing the need of a biochemical approach to detect the adulteration. The adulterated and commercial black pepper samples received lower pungency ranks compared to that of pure samples. QIAGEN DNeasy ® Plant Mini Kit was successful in extracting PCR amplifiable DNA from any sample without papaya seeds and the modified CTAB method was able to extract required PCR amenable DNA from any sample with papaya seed material. The universal DNA barcoding primer pair, psbA-trnH, was used to amplify the DNA. Black pepper DNA yielded 200 bp band, chili and papaya DNA yielded 450 bp band and DNA from adulterated samples produced both 200 bp and 450 bp bands. Therefore this strategy can be used to detect papaya / chili adulterations in black pepper.

Seaweeds are a rich source of health beneficial bioactive nutraceuticals and currently they are under-utilized in Sri Lanka. In the present study, proximate analysis of seaweed varieties Chnoospora minima and Porphyra sp. obtained from Mirissa, Matara, Sri Lanka and Ulva fasciata was taken from Point Dondra Matara, Sri Lanka on June, 2018 were investigated. The moisture content, total fat content, protein content and ash content were determined according to the Official methods of Analysis by Association of Official Analytical Chemists after drying for 8h at 600 C. The results revealed that the moisture contents (%) of Chnoospora minima, Porphyra sp. and Ulva fasciata were 13.24 ± 0.20, 14.30 ± 0.14 and 18.11 ± 0.01 respectively. Total fat contents (%) of Chnoospora minima, Porphyra sp. and Ulva fasciata were 0.21 ± 0.11, 0.19 ± 0.03 and 0.28 ± 0.05 respectively. Protein contents (%) of Chnoospora minima, Porphyra sp. and Ulva fasciata were 13.70 ± 0.2, 21.14 ± 0.04 and 11.84 ± 0.1. Total ash contents (%) of Chnoospora minima, Porphyra sp. and Ulva fasciata were 17.20 ± 0.24, 5.40 ± 0.7 and 18.05 ± 0.21 respectively. Total carbohydrate content (%) was analyzed according to the Dubois method. Chnoospora minima, Porphyra sp. and Ulva fasciata showed total carbohydrate content (%) as 3.87 + 0.66, 20.59 ± 0.24 and 7.68 ± 1.16 respectively. Moreover, the sulphate content was analyzed according to the precipitate method. Chnoospora minima, Porphyra sp. and Ulva fasciata showed 1.45 ± 0.35, 2.75 ± 0.07 and 4.54 ± 0.06, sulfate contents (%) respectively. In conclusion, highest ash content which indicates a good mineral content was observed in Ulva fasciata and Chnoospora minima. Fibre, protein and carbohydrate contents are significantly different among the 3 samples. Highest fibre content was observed in Chnoospora minima. Highest protein and carbohydrate contents were observed in Porphyra sp. But there is no significant difference in fat contents among the three samples.