Summer and Winter Comparisons in the Nutritional Value of Marine Macroalgae from Hong Kong

Abstract

The chemical composition of common marine macroalgae from Hong Kong was determined both in the winter (cool and dry) and the summer (hot and wet) of 1994. During the winter, macroalgal diversity was high and variation in chemical composition between the species was great. In contrast, during the summer, algal diversity was reduced and the shores were dominated by only a small number of comparatively nutrient rich encrusting algae. Multivariate analysis indicated that the nutritional value of algal species (in terms of ash, lipid and soluble carbohydrate content) was related to their systematic position and that, overall, the Phaeophyta had the highest levels of nutrients, while the Chlorophyta and the Corallinaceae were of comparatively low nutritional value. The chemical composition of the species varied temporally as did the abundance and diversity of algae on the shore. Overall, however, seasonal differences in algal availability appeared to be more important in determining total nutrient availability than temporal changes in the nutritional value of the species. Local macroalgae are the main food source for a large number of marine herbivores and variation in algal availability and chemical composition are likely to effect the ecology of these grazers and subsequently community organization.

Proximate Composition of Bio Potential Seaweeds from Mandapam South East Coast of India

“…[34] The variability of ash content among the studied algae was related to the capacity of each species to accumulate minerals according to environmental conditions, seasons and geographical location. [2,35] The moisture content noticed in the present study varied from 3.42 to 4.23 mg/g as resembling with the studies conducted previously in some similar line (other algal species). The moisture content of the fresh seaweed samples ranged between 75.95 and 96.03%.…”

“…[1] Nutrient content of seaweeds vary with species, geographical location, season, humidity and temperature. [2] They are nutritionally valuable as fresh or dried vegetables, or as ingredients in wide prepared foods. [3] In particular, certain edible seaweeds contain significant quantities of protein, lipids, minerals and vitamins.…”

Production of L(+)-Lactic Acid from Mixed Acid and Alkali Hydrolysate of Brown Seaweed

“…In brown seaweeds, alginate is the main structural compound (Kloareg and Quatrano, 1988), while mannitol is a common storage material. Enzymatic degradation of alginate is catalysed by alginate lyases, which cleave the alginate polymer, resulting in unsaturated uronic of population, species, geographic location and temperature, (Kaehler et al, 1996;iii). The overall composition of the seaweed sample in this study agreed with the values previously reported for seaweed (Manivannan et al, 2009).…”

Influence of drying method and location on amino acids and mineral elements of Sternocera orissa Buguet 1836 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in South Africa

“…Oven-drying (Kaehler and Kennish, 1996;Robledo and Pelegrin, 1997) and freeze-drying (Norziah and Ching, 2000;Suzuki et al, 1996) are the two most widely used methods to preserve foods. The basic mechanism of oven-drying method is heating by hot-air convection (Wong and Chueng, 2001) at 65°C temperature to avoid adverse thermal reactions (Anderson, 1996).…”