Evaluation of Chemical, Functional, Spectral, and Thermal Characteristics of Sargassum wightii and Ulva rigida from Indian Coast

Abstract

Usage of seaweeds as a functional food/food ingredient is very limited due to paucity of scientific information about variations in the nutritional composition of seaweeds under diverse climatic conditions. Sargassum wightii and Ulva rigida seaweeds are found abundantly on the Southern Indian coastline and were thoroughly evaluated in this work. Crude fiber and lipid of S. wightii were higher (24.93 ± 0.23% and 3.09 ± 0.41%, respectively) as compared to U. rigida; however, U. rigida had higher crude protein content (27.11 ± 0.62%). Evaluation of mineral and CHNS content indicated that the concentration of potassium, magnesium, and calcium was 1.36 ± 0.08 mg/g, 8.39 ± 0.80 mg/g, and 14.03 ± 3.46 mg/g, respectively, that was higher in the S. wightii, whereas U. rigida contained higher value of iron, carbon, and sulphur (0.70 ± 0.13 mg/g, 37.72 ± 4.63%, and 2.61 ± 0.16%, respectively). Swelling capacity (19.42 ± 0.00 mL/g DW to 22.66 ± 00 mL/g DW), water-holding capacity (6.15 ± 0.08 g/g DW to 6.38 ± 0.14 g/g DW), and oil-holding capacity (2.96 ± 0.13 g/g DW) of U. rigida were significantly ( p < 0.05 ) higher as compared to S. wightii. It was observed from DSC thermograms that S. wightii can be safely processed for food formulations even at a temperature of 134°C. The thermograms also revealed changes in the sulphated polysaccharide (fucoidan) profile due to the presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups with denaturation of proteins. TGA of S. wightii and U. rigida showed degradation temperature within the range of 200–300°C due to divergent polysaccharide compositions. FTIR spectroscopy suggested the presence of phenolic groups in both seaweeds (at 1219 cm−1). Results of the study suggested that the manufacturing of functional food products from seaweeds could be beneficial and may aid in social upliftment of cultivators/fishermen.

Effect of Different Drying Methods on the Nutritional, Functional, and Bioactive Properties of Gracilaria edulis and Ulva lactuca

“…The value is higher compared with that of Rosemary et al (2019) in G. edulis (8.66 mL/g) and Udayangani, Wijesekara, and Wickramasinghe (2019) in U. lactuca (1 mL/g). The results of WHC of this study are lower than the observed values of Sakthivel and Devi (2015) in G. edulis (9.97 g/g), Wong and Cheung (2000) in U. lactuca (9.71 g/ g), Yaich et al (2011) in U. lactuca (6.66 g/g), and Kumar et al (2021) in U. rigida yet higher compared with those from studies by Rosemary et al (2019) in G. edulis (4.09 g/g). The significantly (p , 0.05) higher SWC and WHC values of dried seaweeds reflect that both U. lactuca and G. edulis can be used as texturizing and bulking agents in making low-calorie food products.…”

“…Furthermore, hydrophilic nature, overall charge density, and particle size also play a role in defining the technofunctional properties of U. lactuca and G. edulis . In this study, SWC of U. lactuca ranged between 12.83 and 19.75 mL/g and of G. edulis ranged from 16.65 to 18.08 mL/g, and the results are in accordance with those of Sakthivel and Devi (2015) in G. edulis (20 mL/g), Wong and Cheung (2000) in U. lactuca (13 mL/g), and Kumar et al . (2021) in U. rigida (19.42 mL/g).…”

“…and their extract may be characterized for the bioactive compounds, which can be useful in nutraceuticals formulation. It has also been reported that marine macroalgae produce various volatile organic compounds, such as hydrocarbons, terpenes, phenols, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, fatty acids, and halogen or sulfur-containing compounds, which are responsible for the characteristic flavor and freshness (Kannan, 2014; Kidgell et al ., 2019; Kumar et al ., 2019; Li, Wang, and He, 2020; Kumar et al ., 2021). The samples showed strong transmission peaks higher than 3200 cm –1 , which can be attributed to the presence of N-H and O-H stretching, possibly because of the presence of polysaccharides and amino acids native to seaweeds.…”

Bioactive properties of brown seaweed, Sargassum wightii and its nutritional, therapeutic potential and health benefits: A review

“…S. wightii is a good source of nutrients like crude protein, crude fibre calcium, iron, and sulphur, etc. Moreover, water and oil holding capacity of S. wightii is directly related to its protein, fibre, and flavonoid contents that increase its antioxidant potential and provide a genuine reason to use it as a fibre rich ingredient in food products and nutraceuticals (Kumar et al, 2021). For health benefits, S. wightii can be infused for better flavour in coffee-based beverages (Kumar et al, 2019) and as a spice in the diet to improve the taste and nutritive value of food (Sumayaa and Kavitha, 2015).…”

Bioactive Molecules in Food: From Food Composition and Dedicated Databases to Metabolomic Pathways

“…In this context, Sagar et al [1] described and gave new data on physicochemical and thermal characteristics of onion skin from fifteen Indian cultivars for possible food applications. Another example given by Kumar et al [2] evaluated the chemical, functional, spectral, and thermal characteristics of Sargassum wightii and Ulva rigida from the Indian Coast.…”