INT J CURR SCI 2014, 12: E 57-71

RESEARCH ARTICLE ISSN 2250-1770

Proximate composition, nutraceutical constituents and fatty acid profile on GCMS

of seaweeds collected from Balk Bay (Thondi), India

Arunkumar K*, A. Palanivelu and A. Darsis

Post Graduate and Research Department of Botany, Alagappa Government Arts College

Karaikuadi-630 003, India

*Corresponding author: arunnir@yahoo.co.in; Mobile: +91-9865051016

Abstract

The proximate compositions such as dry weight, ash content, total chlorophyll, accessory pigments (phycocyanin,

allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin) and total lipids from fresh seaweeds; total carbohydrate, total protein, total amino acids,

total phenol, WRC and sulphate content in crude carbohydrate of 16 red and 7 green seaweeds and GC-MS profile of fatty

acids of red Gracilaria corticata var. corticata, G. verrucosa, Acanthophora spicifera and green Chaetomorpha linum were

recorded, in the present study. Seaweeds such as red Gracilaria verrucosa, G. edulis, Hypnea musciformis, H. valentiae,

Grateloupia filicina; and green seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Chaetomorpha linum are promising not only for traditional cell

wall polysaccharides extraction but also as a source of specific nutraceutical values like dietary fiber, pigments,

carbohydrates, protein and amino acids supplements in the food and fodder. Specifically seaweeds such as Gracilaria

verrucosa, G. corticata var. corticata, Acanthophora spicifera and green seaweed Chaetomorpha linum can be utilized not

only as source of nutraceutical supplements but also for fatty acids as well as bioactive compounds.

Keywords: Thondi, seaweeds, nutraceuticals, proximate compositions, crude carbohydrate

Received: 17thMay; Revised: 04thJune; Accepted: 28thJuly; © IJCS New Liberty Group 2014

Introduction

The per capita availability of land declined from 0.89

hectare in 1951 to 0.37 hectare in 1991 and is projected to

slide down to 0.20 hectare in 2035

(www.worldfoodscience.org). This decline is mostly on

account of rising population. To meet this demand,

utilization of ocean and its resources is a suitable alternate.

As a developing country, Indian stretches about 7500 km

of coastal lines supported with 844 species of seaweeds

(Oza and Zaidi, 2001) found growing along the intertidal

and sub-tidal coastal waters (Kaliaperumal et al., 1998).

The principal uses of seaweeds are sources for

phycocolloids, fodder, fertilizer and direct use in human

diet (Abbott, 1996). Europeans and Americans are using

processed seaweeds as additives in their food preparation

(Sophie, 1998). About 600 species of seaweeds are used as

food in various parts of the world especially in Japan,

China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand

etc. Seaweeds considered as low cost but rich of

carbohydrate, protein and lipid with appreciable amount of

certain important essential amino acids, fatty acids,

minerals and all vitamins required for human and animals

consumption (Qasim, 1991; Fleming et al.,1996; Norziah

and Ching, 2000). According to Chapman (1980), 100 g

seaweed provides more than the daily requirement of

Vitamin A, B1 and B12 and two thirds of Vitamin C. They

are also containing carotene, tocopherols and long-chain

polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (Khotimchenko et al.,

Arunkumar et al., 2014

www.currentsciencejournal.info

2002). Lipids are the major source of metabolic energy and

essential for the formation of cell and tissue membranes

(Pazos et al.,1997) that exhibit bioactivities against

pathogens causing diseases in animals and plants

(Arunkumar et al., 2005; Agoramoorthy et al., 2007).

Seaweed lipids may be utilized for specific nutritional

supplements (Heiba, 2005) especially as a source of

physiologically active polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)

since they are not synthesized by animals, have to be taken

up from diets (Usmanghani and Shameel, 1996). Analysis

of individual fatty acids in Indian seaweeds is limited

(Venkatesalu et al., 2003a, b; Venkatesalu et al., 2004;

Ananatharaj et al., 2004). Even though studies on

proximate compositions of seaweeds found around the

world (Fujiwara-Arasaki et al., 1984; Watanabe and

Nisizawa, 1984; Ito and Hori, 1989; Chan, 1997; Norziah

and Ching, 2000) as well as India (Parekh et al., 1977;

Devi et al., 2008; Manivannan et al., 2009) were made,

nutritional values of water extractable crude carbohydrates

of seaweeds are not made since sulphated polysaccharides

of seaweeds are water soluble proved displaying various

biological activities. Besides, to ensure the nutritional

potential, the seaweeds should contain adequate amount of

biochemical constituents in their water soluble extracts. To

keep this view in mind, in the present investigation,

proximate composition of fresh specimens as well as water

soluble crude extracts of seaweeds occurring along the

coast of Thondi (Palk Pay) India were recorded in order to

realize them for nutraceuticals.

Materials and Methods

Thondi is located (Lat: 90 44’ 10” N and Long: 790

00’ 45” E Palk Bay) in the heart of Palk Strait (Palk Bay)

in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, India known

for historical minor port right of early Pandiya’s kings.

This coastal shore naturally of shallow waters contain

loose mud and sand which habour quite number of diverse

seaweeds belonging to Rhodophyceae, Phaeophyceae and

Chlorophyceae (Darsis and Arunkumar, 2008).

Methods of analyses of Proximate compositions

Fresh, matured and healthy sample weighing 1 kg of

each seaweed (16 red and 7 green) found along the coast of

Thondi was collected during monsoon season (November)

in the year 2008 in spring tide. They were washed

thoroughly in seawater followed by tap water to remove

the epiphytes and other extraneous materials and brought

to laboratory and stored at 00C for studies biochemical

studies. Dry weight, ash content (Lamare and Wing, 2001),

total chlorophyll( Jeffrey and Hymphrey, 1975), accessory

pigments (phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and

phycoerythrin) (Bennett and Bogorad,1973) and total lipids

(Roughan and Bratt, 1968) were estimated from the frozen

samples whereas total carbohydrate (Dubois et al., 1956),

total protein (Lowry et al., 1951), total amino acids (Dave

and Chauhan, 1993), total phenol (Kuda et al., 2005), water

retention capacity (WRC) and sulphate (Verma et al.,

1977) were recorded from the crude carbohydrate of the

frozen samples.

Extraction of crude carbohydrate

Each seaweed weighing 500 g of the frozen samples

were soaked in 1500 ml of distilled water and heated up to

80°C for 30 mins under agitated condition. Then, the

mixture was filtered through the muslin cloth under warm

condition. The same procedure was repeated for three

times. The extracts were combined and kept at –10°C

under freeze drying by high vacuum dehydration. For

biochemical studies, analyses made from 4 samples in each

experiment and data were statistically analysed using the

SPSS 14.

Arunkumar et al., 2014

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Analysis of fatty acids through GC/MS

Lipid extraction (Roughan and Bratt, 1968)

Considering abundance and total lipids, each 10 g of

freeze dried specimens of seaweed such as Gracilaria

corticata var. corticata, G. verrucosa, Acanthophora

spicifera and Chaetomorpha linum were homogenized

using a mortar and pestle and soaked overnight in

methanol: chloroform: water (2:1:0.8 v/v/v).

Chloroform/water was added until separation of two

phases. The lower chloroform phase contain crude lipids

was collected and concentrated in rotary evaporation at 400

C and reconstituted in 10 ml chloroform.

Esterification

For saponification, Five 5 ml of crude total lipids of

each sample was treated with 5% KOH in methanol for 3 h

at 800C. The unsaponified lipid was washed in

hexane:chloroform (4:1 v/v, 3×2 ml). Then the aqueous

layer in the samples was acidified with 1.0 N HCl pH 2 and

methylated to produce their corresponding fatty acid

methyl esters using methanol :chloroform: HCl (10:1:1,

800C, 2 h). Products were then extracted into hexane:

chloroform (4:1, 3×2 ml) and reconstituted in hexane

stored at 00C.

GC-MS Programme

Column: Elite-1 (100% Dimethyl poly siloxane), 30

m x0.25 mm ID X 1µm df; Equipment: GC Clarus 500

Perkin Elmer; Carrier gas : Helium 1 ml/min Detector :

Mass detector-Turbo mass 5.1; Sample injected : 2 µl; Split

: 10:1; Oven Temperature programme: 110-2 min hold Up

to 200C at the rate of 10/min-No hold Up to 2800C at the

rate of 50/min-9 min hold Injector temp: 2500C; Total GC

time : 36 min; MS programme: Library used : NIST

Ver.2.0-Year 2005 Inlet line temperature: 2000C; Source

temperature: 2000C; Electron energy : 70 e V: Mass scan :

(m/Z) 45-450 MS Time : 36 min.

Results

The obtained proximate compositions such as dry

weight, ash content, total chlorophyll, accessory pigments

(phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin) and

total lipids from fresh seaweeds; total carbohydrate, total

protein, total amino acids, total phenol, WRC and sulphate

from crude carbohydrate of 16 red and 7 green seaweeds

and fatty acid profile of red Gracilaria corticata var.

corticata, G. verrucosa, Acanthophora spicifera and green

Chaetomorpha linum made through GC/MS study are

presented. Dry weight (144.56±3.6 mgg-1 fresh wt.) and

ash content (39.6±4.6 mgg-1 fresh wt.) were recorded

significantly at maximum in coralline red alga, Jania

rubens among all the seaweeds investigated and the

observed differences in dry weight among agarophytes

Gracilaria corticata var. corticata and G. corticata var.

cylindrica; G. edulis and G. verrucosa did not significant.

High dry wt. of 138.2 ± 2.7 mgg-1 fresh wt. was registered

in G. corticata var. cylindrica among the agarophytes

whereas in carrageenophytes, Hypnea musciformis

(103.3±5.2 mgg -1 fresh wt.) was recorded high. For green

seaweeds, maximum dry wt. and ash content were recorded

in Ulva lactuca and Chaetomorpha linum, respectively but

differences did not show significant with other green

seaweeds. Total lipids (78.76±6.2 mgg-1 fresh wt.) was

recorded at maximum in green seaweed Chaetomorpha

linum among the collected samples whereas within red

seaweeds, a high of 67.23 ± 3.6 mgg-1 fresh wt. of total

lipids was recorded in G. verrucosa (Table 1).

Arunkumar et al., 2014

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Table 1. Dry weight, ash content and total lipids composition of seaweeds collected along the coast of Thondi, India

Seaweeds Dry wt.

(mg-1 g fresh wt.)

Ash content

(mg-1 g dry wt.)

Total lipids

(mg-1 g fresh wt.)

Red

Amphiroa fragilissima 130.3 ±4.5H 34.4±3.2E 36.85±3.6BC

Jania rubens 144.56±3.6K 39.6±4.6F 27.42±4.1A

Grateloupia filicina 121.7±6.8G 30.3±5.1D 40.29±2.7D

Gracilaria corticata var. corticata 133.4±4.7IJ 27.4±2.2C 53.87±3.0G

G. corticata var. cylindrica 138.2±2.7J 31.5±2.7D 50.75±7.9F

G. edulis 129.8±5.6H 29.7±1.7D 43.65±4.2E

G. canaliculata (=G. crassa) 114.6±3.8F 27.4±3.5C 51.43±4.7F

G. verrucosa 129.9±2.7H 37.9±2.6F 67.23±3.6H

G. foliifera 73.9±5.7C 28.2±8.1CD 34.50±5.2B

Hypnea flagelliformis 97.7±7.2DE 21.2±6.3B 41.33±3.1D

H.musciformis 103.3±5.2E 26.3±2.5C 40.21±4.2D

H. valentiae 93.3±3.1D 27.6±4.3C 37.56±7.4C

Champia parvula 60.7±5.2B 20.3±2.5B 44.21±3.1E

Centroceras clavulatum 41.8±7.1A 17.6±1.3AB 33.66±3.4B

Spiridia hypnoides 115.6±7.2F 18.1±3.2AB 41.93±4.8D

Acanthophora spicifera 110.6±7.7F 16.4±2.4A 55.33±5.1G

Green

Enteromorpha flexuosa 80.6±2.7D 14.6±2.5B 60.50±3.1C

E. intestinalis 85.9±8.3DE 13.7±6.4B 66.27±5.2D

Ulva lactuca 90.8±3.7F 17.3±2.9C 74.89±4.1F

Ulva reticulata 87.5±3.5EF 16.7±4.1C 73.62±4.1E

Chaetomorpha linum 67.8±3.9B 18.9±3.7C 78.76±6.2F

Caulerpa scalpeliformis 74.7±2.7C 10.7±2.9A 53.25±3.7B

Cladophora facicularis 42.2±5.7A 09.4±2.1A 37.41±2.7A

Mean values with different alphabets in each group of seaweeds in each column showed significant at P < 0.01

Generally total chlorophyll was higher in green seaweeds

than red seaweeds whereas accessory pigments observed

high in the latter. Amount of phycoerythrin was high

followed by allophycocyanin and phycocyanin among the

accessory pigments. Total chlorophyll was recorded at

maximum in green seaweed Ulva reticulata (1.89±0.64

mgg-1 fresh wt.) among all the specimens. The high amount

of phycocyanin was recorded in red seaweeds G. edulis

and G. verrucosa which exhibited insignificant difference

whereas the high amount of allophycocyanin (0.51±0.02

mgg-1 fresh wt.) and phycoerythrin (0.77±0.04 mgg-1 fresh

wt.) was recorded only in G. verrucosa among all the

seaweeds investigated (Table 2). The yield of crude

carbohydrate and total carbohydrate content were observed

more in red seaweeds than green seaweeds that is those

seaweeds with high constituent of commercial

polysaccharides showed high yield of crude carbohydrate

and total sugar. However, the crude carbohydrate yield was

recorded at maximum in red seaweed Gracilaria verrucosa

(of 57.7±1.7 % dry wt.) whereas total carbohydrate was

observed high in Gracilaria edulis (67.4±1.4% in crude

carbohydrate) among the collected samples. Observed

values of total protein content were mostly significant

among the red seaweeds and the high amount of total

protein (37.7±2.9% in crude carbohydrate) and total amino

acids (30.3±5.2% in crude carbohydrate) were recorded in

red seaweed Gracilaria verrucosa among all the seaweeds

investigated whereas in green seaweeds, Ulva lactuca was

recorded high which did not significant with

Chaetomorpha linum (Table 3).

Generally differences in the observed values of total

phenol content among the seaweeds investigated did not

Arunkumar et al., 2014

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Table 2. Total chlorophyll, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin of seaweeds collected from Thondi, India

Seaweeds Total chlorophyll

(mg-1 g fresh wt.)

Phycocyanin

(mg-1 g fresh wt.)

Allophycocyanin

(mg-1 g fresh wt.)

Phycoerythrin

(mg-1 g fresh wt.)

Red Amphiroa fragilissima 0.17±0.001A 0.07±.001A 0.29±0.01B 0.41±0.02A

Jania rubens 0.07±0.002A 0.03±.001A 0.17±0.00A 0.35±0.03A

Grateloupia filicina 0.09±0.001A 0.04±.001A 0.18±0.00A 0.39±0.01A

Gracilaria corticata var. corticata 0.37±0.003E 0.09±.001B 0.19±0.00A 0.48±0.02B

G. corticata var. cylindrical 0.29±0.005CD 0.23±.002C 0.31±0.01B 0.54±0.03C

G. edulis 0.34±0.003D 0.38±0.002E 0.42±0.02D 0.71±0.03F

G. canaliculata (=G. crassa) 0.33±0.001D 0.32±0.001D 0.47±0.01F 0.64±0.04E

G. verrucosa 0.38±0.004E 0.38±0.004E 0.51±0.02G 0.77±0.04G

G. foliifera 0.24±0.006B 0.20±.001C 0.41±0.02D 0.66±0.02E

Hypnea flagelliformis 0.29±0.002C 0.21±.002C 0.39±0.01D 0.68±0.02EF

H.musciformis 0.22±0.001B 0.31±.001D 0.40±0.01D 0.57±0.03D

H. valentiae 0.27±0.002C 0.30±0.002D 0.48±0.01F 0.67±0.02E

Champia parvula 0.20±0.001B 0.28±.001D 0.41±0.02D 0.69±0.03EF

Centroceras clavulatum 0.27±0.002C 0.24±0.002C 0.44±0.01E 0.59±0.02D

Spiridia hypnoides 0.22±0.003B 0.21±.006C 0.36±0.02C 0.52±0.02B

Acanthophora spicifera 0.37±0.004E 0.24±.001C 0.39±0.02D 0.49±0.02B

Green Enteromorpha flexuosa 1.51±0.42C 0.02±0.001A 0.03±0.001A 0.11±0.01B

E. intestinalis 1.57±0.61D 0.03±0.001A 0.03±0.001A 0.13±0.01B

Ulva lactuca 1.83±0.37F 0.04±0.001A 0.05±0.001A 0.09±0.01AB

Ulva reticulata 1.89±0.64G 0.03±0.002A 0.03±0.002A 0.07±0.00A

Chaetomorpha linum 1.77±0.62E 0.04±0.002A 0.04±0.002A 0.12±0.00B

Caulerpa scalpeliformis 1.34±0.22B 0.03±0.001A 0.03±0.001A 0.13±0.01B

Cladophora facicularis 1.04±0.32A 0.02±0.002A 0.02±0.002A 0.11±0.00B

Mean values with different alphabets in each group of seaweeds in each column showed significant at P < 0.001

Table 3. Proximate composition in the crude carbohydrate extracted from seaweeds collected along the coast of Thondi, India

Seaweeds

Crude

carbohydrate

yield

(% in alga dry

wt.)

Total

carbohydrate

(% in crude

carbohydrate)

Total protein

(% in crude

carbohydrate)

Total

amino acids

(% in crude

carbohydrate)

Red Amphiroa fragilissima 43.2 ±0.5B 33.4±4.2B 9.2 ±2.2A 8.1 ±1.2A

Jania rubens 36.9±0.6A 29.6±3.6A 11.1±1.2A 7.5±4.3A

Grateloupia filicina 35.1±0.2A 36.3±2.1C 15.1±2.1B 10.6±3.1B

Gracilaria corticata var. corticata 53.7±0.1C 52.4±2.6G 26.5±5.4D 11.7±2.7B

G. corticata var. cylindrica 52.4±0.2C 47.5±2.3F 20.1±4.2C 15.9±3.1D

G. edulis 54.3±1.6CD 67.4±1.4I 29.3±2.1E 26.2±3.1H

G. canaliculata (=G. crassa) 50.1±2.8C 66.4±3.3I 21.1±2.8C 21.8±1.3G

G. verrucosa 57.7±1.7D 65.9±2.4I 37.7±2.9G 30.3±5.2I

G. foliifera 43.9±0.7B 54.2±1.1G 21.4±4.7C 19.4±1.3F

Hypnea flagelliformis 46.3±0.2B 38.2±6.3C 22.7±2.2C 19.5±3.2F

H.musciformis 44.7±1.2B 40.2±2.7CD 25.5±1.2D 15.5±3.5D

H. valentiae 41.3±0.1B 44.2±4.4DE 30.1±1.3F 15.2±7.2D

Champia parvula 24.7±0.2A 32.5±2.9AB 27.4±4.2E 17.4±5.1E

Centroceras clavulatum 21.1±0.9A 47.2±1.4F 22.5±3.6C 15.6±3.5D

Spiridia hypnoides 45.6±0.2B 41.8±3.1D 25.6±4.2D 13.9±1.1C

Acanthophora spicifera 41.1±0.7A 36.4±2.1C 24.1±2.7D 15.3±4.2D

Green Enteromorpha flexuosa 23.6±0.7B 31.8±2.8A 20.2±2.3A 19.5±2.3AB

E. intestinalis 21.8±0.8B 35.7±4.4B 23.3±2.1B 20.5±3.2B

Ulva lactuca 27.8±0.7C 40.1±2.8C 35.5±3.6E 26.3±2.1C

Ulva reticulata 25.4±0.5C 38.4±5.1C 30.4±6.5D 24.1±3.7C

Chaetomorpha linum 29.8±1.9C 38.6±2.7C 34.1±1.2E 25.6±2.1C

Caulerpa scalpelliformis 27.1±0.7C 32.4±2.9A 24.1±2.7B 18.6±3.3A

Cladophora facicularis 17.4±0.6A 28.5±1.9A 22.7±1.6AB 18.1±4.1A

Mean values with different alphabets in each group of seaweeds in each column showed significant at P < 0.01

significant. However, the red seaweed, Gracilaria

verrucosa (0.51±0.02 mgg-1 dry crude carbohydrate) was

recorded at maximum total phenol which is significantly

higher than other red algae investigated. In green

seaweeds, maximum total phenol was recorded in

Chaetomorpha linum (0.41±0.02 mgg-1 dry crude

carbohydrate) which did not show significant difference

with Ulva lactuca. Generally WRC in the crude

carbohydrate of red seaweeds was higher than green

seaweeds. The observed WRC in the crude carbohydrate

was maximum in Gracilaria canaliculata which did not

significantly higher than G. edulis and G. verrucosa.

Mostly significant difference in sulphate content was

exhibited among the seaweeds samples. A maximum

amount of sulphate was observed in the Gracilaria

canaliculata (109.42±7.9 mgg-1 crude carbohydrate) (Table

4).

GC/MS data showed that methyl esters from C5 to

C18 were recorded from Gracilaria verrucosa, Gracilaria

corticata var. corticata, Acanthophora spicifera and green

Chaetomorpha linum. Out of 14 methyl esters contain C10

to C18 , main fatty acids such as n-Hexadecanoic acid

(41.82%) and Oleic Acid (27.63%) were recorded in red

Gracilaria verrucosa (Fig.1) whereas in another red

seaweed Gracilaria corticata var. corticata dominant

Diethyl phthalate (42.09%), n-Hexadecanoic acid (20.11%)

and Z-10-pentadecen-1-ol(11.21%) (Fig.2) and in other red

Acanthophora spicifera mainly represented by Diethyl

phthalate (38.85%), 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, Ethyl

methyl ester (38.16%) and Dimethyl phthalate (14.72%)

(Fig.3). Among the 8 methyl esters found in green seaweed

Chaetomorpha linum, Diethyl phthalate (42.10%), 1,2-

Benzenedicarboxylic acid, Ethyl methyl ester (34.88%),

Hexadecanoic acid (10.40%) and Dimethyl phthalate

(9.54%) were predominant (Fig. 4).

Discussion

USA, South America, Ireland, Iceland and France

have been significantly increased the consumption,

production and marketing of seaweeds (McHugh, 2003).

Average Japanese eat 1.4 kg of seaweed per year (Burtin,

2003). Consumption of seaweeds in India is still not

popular even though 60 species are identified as

commercially important (Dhargalkar and Pereira, 2005). In

the present study, observed proximate composition from

fresh specimens as well as water soluble crude

carbohydrate of 23 seaweeds belong to 16 Rhodophyceae

and 7 Chlorophyceae; and fatty acid profile of red

seaweeds Gracilaria verrucosa, Gracilaria corticata var.

corticata, Acanthophora spicifera and green

Chaetomorpha linum collected along the coast of Thondi

(Palk Bay) were perceived with nutritional potential.

It has been reported that green seaweeds contains 68-

88% water, 3-18% protein (Burkholder et al., 1971), 0.6-

4.3% fat (Munda, 1972) and 1-47% carbohydrate

(Burkholder et al., 1971; Imbamba, 1972). Green seaweeds

contain more proteins than brown and red seaweeds

(Parekh et al., 1977). Fujiwara-Arasaki et al. (1984)

reported that the amino acid composition in seaweeds

found to be 10-30% of the dry weight. Wong and Cheung

(2000) stated that high protein level and balanced amino

acid profile of seaweeds appeared to be an interesting

potential source of plant food proteins. Basemir et al.

(2004) and Nakagawa and Montgomery (2007) reported

that macro algal lipids contain a wide variety of fatty acids,

including long chain polyunsaturated important to neural

function and health.

Table 4. Proximate composition in the crude carbohydrate extracted from the seaweeds collected from Thondi, India

@Mean values with different alphabets in each group of seaweeds in each column showed significant at P < 0.001, #Mean values with

different alphabets in each group of seaweeds in each column showed significant at P < 0.01

The present investigation showed that biochemical

composition of fresh as well as water soluble crude of

seaweeds collected at Thondi coast varied from species to

species. Calcareous red alga Jania rubens found

abundantly along the coast of Thondi (Darsis and

Arunkumar, 2008) was recorded maximum dry weight and

ash content in this stud than other species however no

significant differences observed within agarophytes

(Gracilaria corticata var. corticata and G. corticata var.

cylindrica; G. edulis and G. verrucosa) and

carrageenophytes (Hypnea flagelliformis, Hypnea valentiae

and H.musciformis) indicated that they contained similar

biochemical constituents. Higher dry wt. and ash content in

red seaweeds than green observed in this investigation

reflected by lower water content and high mineral in the

former as reported by Sivakumar and Arunkumar (2009).

Chackrobarthy and Santra (2003) found high lipid content

in green seaweed Enteromorpha intestinalis. Dawczynski

et al. (2007) demonstrated that low lipid contents in

seaweeds proved to be a rich source of dietary fiber. As

reported by Rohani-Ghadikolaei et al. (2011), in this study

commonly higher lipid recorded in green seaweeds rather

than red seaweeds found former as suitable for the source

of fatty acids however, specifically in this study the high

lipid content was recorded in green seaweed Caulerpa

scalpeliformis along with the red, Gracilaria verrucosa

Seaweeds

@Total

phenol(mg-1 g

dry crude

carbohydrate)

#Water

retention

capacity

(g H2O g-1 dry

crude

carbohydrate)

#Sulphate

(mg g -1 dry

crude

carbohy

drate)

Red

Amphiroa fragilissima 0.29±0.01B 0.93±0.12A 55.44±0.7F

Jania rubens 0.17±0.00A 0.88±0.25A 87.32±5.2L

Grateloupia filicina 0.18±0.00A 0.96±0.32A 21.52±3.1B

Gracilaria corticata var. corticata 0.19±0.00A 1.79±0.47B

66.42±8.1H

G. corticata var. cylindrica 0.39±0.02C 1.95±0.27B 83.22±4.1K

G. edulis 0.47±0.02C 2.72±0.51C 94.75±9.2M

G. canaliculata (=G. crassa) 0.40±0.01C 2.89±0.80C 109.42±7.9N

G. verrucosa 0.51±0.02D 2.51±0.66C 90.55±5.5L

G. foliifera 0.41±0.02C 1.41±0.71B 78.6±6.2J

Hypnea flagelliformis 0.39±0.01C 1.58±0.50B 73.83±7.2I

H.musciformis 0.42±0.01C 1.30±0.70B 29.55±7.3B

H. valentiae 0.44±0.01C 1.27±0.91B 33.62±3.2CD

Champia parvula 0.41±0.02C 1.74±0.77B 54.27±7.1F

Centroceras clavulatum 0.44±0.01C 0.95±0.60A 42.79±4.9E

Spiridia hypnoides 0.36±0.02C 0.73±0.71A 60.99±7.8G

Acanthophora spicifera 0.31±0.01B 0.86±0.56A 83.11±2.3

Green

Enteromorpha flexuosa 0.26±0.01A 0.71±0.42A

33.19±2.6CD

E. intestinalis 0.27±0.01A 0.78±0.64A 32.10±4.5C

Ulva lactuca 0.39±0.01C 1.06±0.73B 28.98±7.6C

Ulva reticulata 0.31±0.02B 0.95±0.71B 22.54±5.3B

Chaetomorpha linum 0.41±0.02C 0.99±0.75B 39.21±4.7E

Caulerpa scalpeliformis 0.31±0.01B 0.73±0.84A 37.62±7.2E

Cladophora facicularis 0.31±0.01B 0.78±0.42A 18.43±3.8A

Fig. 1. Fatty acid methy ester profile of red seaweed Gracilaria verrucosa recorded in GC-MS

Retention

Time

Name of the compound Molecular

Formula

Molecular

Weight

peak Area %

6.32 1-Octanol, 2,7-dimethyl- C10H22O 158 0.73

9.32 1,14-Tetradecanediol C14H30O2 230 0.82

10.25 Tricycle [4.2.2.0(2.5)] deca-7,9-

Diene-7,8- dicarboxylic acid,

Cyano-, dimethyl ester

C15H15NO4 273 0.21

11.15 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid,

Ethyl methyl ester

C11H12O4 208 1.29

11.37 Oxirane, tetradecyl- C16H32O 240 1.89

12.00 Diethyl phthalate C12H14O4 222 2.52

12.87 2-Dodecanone C12H24O 184 2.64

13.13 Oxirane, tetradecyl- C16H32O 240 7.11

14.47 10-Undecenal C11H20O 168 0.91

15.86 Cyclopentadecanone, 4- methyl- C16H30O 238 1.30

16.15 9-Octadecenal C18H34O 266 3.13

17.43 n-Hexadecanoic acid(Palmitic acid) C16H32O2 256 41.82

19.53 Hexadecenoic acid, Z-11 C16H30O2 254 7.99

20.32 Oleic Acid C18H34O2 282 27.63

whose occurrence recorded as abundance along the coast

of Tamil Nadu (Rengasamy and Ilanchelian, 1988;

Kaliaperumal et al., 1994; Darsis and Arunkumar, 2008;

Palanivelu and Arunkumar, 2009) suggested that this red

seaweed can be utilized not only for traditional agar

production but also a source for fatty acids.

The quantity of macroalgal pigment is mostly used

to define algal biomass (Zucchi and Necchi, 2001). In this

investigation, generally total chlorophyll was higher in

green seaweeds than in red seaweeds whereas accessory

pigments were observed high in the later as reported by

Talarico and Maranzana (2000) and further stated that the

red seaweed Gracilaria verrucosa observed at maximum

accessory pigments (phycoerythrin, allophycocyanin and

phycocyanin) indicated that this would be a good source

for the extraction of natural pigments besides its utilization

%

of

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Retention time (Minute)

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Fig. 2. Fatty acid methy ester profile of red seaweed Gracilaria corticata var. corticata recorded in GC-MS

RT Name of the compound Molecular

Formula

Molecular

Weight

peak Area %

6.95 Benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, methyl ester C8H8O3 152 4.64

7.98 Benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, ethyl ester C9H10O3 166 0.53

10.24 Dimethyl phthalate C10H10O4 194 2.65

12.00 Diethyl phthalate C12H14O4 222 42.09

11.14 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid,

Ethyl methyl ester

C11H12O4 208 18.62

16.76 Pentanoic acid, 4-methyl, methyl ester C7H14O2 130 0.15

17.32 n-Hexadecanoic acid C16H32O2 256 20.11

20.17 Z-10-pentadecen-1-ol C15H30O 226 11.21

for cell wall polysaccharides and agar. From this present

investigation, it observed that recorded water soluble crude

carbohydrate yield was more in red seaweeds than in green

seaweeds. It observed that the species of Gracilaria

(Agarophytes) extracted with higher crude carbohydrate

than Hypnea (Carrageenophytes) as result of high

proximate constituents such as total carbohydrate, total

protein and total amino acid recorded in the water soluble

crude extract of Gracilaria species. Phenolic compounds

reported to have several biological effects including

antioxidant, antiapoptosis, anti-aging, anti-carcinogen (Han

et al., 2007) and have been highly considered for their

important dietary roles such as antioxidant and

chemoprotective agents (Bravo, 1998). Seaweeds

considered as a rich source of antioxidants (Cahyana et al.,

1992). In the present study, based on the recorded total

phenol in the seaweed samples collected from the Thondi

coast found as promising source of antioxidative property

as reported by Devi et al. (2008).

Consumption of seaweeds can increase the intake of

dietary fiber and thereby reduce the occurrence of some

chronic diseases (Ginneken et al., 2011). WRC (water

retention capacity) in the crude extracted carbohydrate

indirectly indicates the dietary fiber present in the crude

carbohydrate extracts of seaweeds. Red seaweeds are

mainly constituted with water insoluble hetero-

polysaccharides called agar. Thus, in the present study,

crude carbohydrate of red seaweeds showed more WRC

%

of

Pea

k

area

Are

a

Retention time (Minute)

Fig. 3. Fatty acid methy ester profile of red seaweed Acanthophora spicifera recorded in GC-MS

RT Name of the compound Molecular

Formula

Molecular

Weight

peak Area %

6.97 Benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, methyl ester C8H8O3 152 4.81

8.01 Benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, ethyl ester C8H10O3 166 0.49

10.25 Dimethyl phthalate C10H10O4 194 14.72

11.14 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid,

Ethyl methyl ester

C11H12O4 208 38.16

11.99 Diethyl phthalate C12H14O4 222 38.85

16.74 Butanoic acid, 2-methyl- C5H10O2 102 0.08

17.37 n-Hexadecanoic acid C16H32O2 256 2.69

19.48 4-Dimethyl-5-hexen-3-ol C8H16O 128 0.20

20.51 Dodecyl acrylate C15H28O2 240 4.81

than green seaweeds due to the presence of water in-solu-

ble dietary fiber as reported by (Carvalho et al., 2009). It

further evidence that WRC in the crude carbohydrate of red

seaweeds are increased in those red seaweeds recorded

high amount of phycoccolloids.

Femenia et al. (1997) and Rupérez and Saura-

Calixto (2001) reported that WRC is attributed to insoluble

fiber, high content of uronic acids and components of

soluble fraction of dietary fiber, as a corroboration, in the

present investigation, red seaweeds such as Grateloupia

filicina, Gracilaria corticata var. corticata, G. corticata

var. cylindrical, G. edulis, G. canaliculata, G. verrucosa,

G. foliifera, Grateloupia filicina, Hypnea flgelliformis,

H.musciformis and H. valentiae contained commercially

important cell wall polysaccharides showed high WRC

would be a source of dietary fiber besides polysaccharides

extraction. Mineral content of several brown, red and green

seaweeds was recorded (Sivakumar and Arunkumar,

2009). Seaweeds contained 1.3-5.9% of sulphate (Rupérez,

2002). As the observation of Sivakumar and Arunkumar

(2009), in the present investigation was also recorded

significant difference in sulphate content among the

seaweeds.

Marine macroalgae form a good, durable and

virtually inexhaustible source for polyunsaturated fatty

acids (Ginneken et al., 2011). Eleven species of seaweeds

%

of

Pea

k

area

Are

a

Retention time (Minute)

Fig. 4. Fatty acid methy ester profile of green seaweed Chaetomorpha linum recorded in GC-MS

RT Name of the compound Molecular

Formula

Molecular

Weight

peak Area %

6.98 Benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, methyl ester C8H8O3 152 2.41

10.25 Dimethyl phthalate C10H10O4 194 9.54

11.14 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid,

Ethyl methyl ester

C11H12O4 208 34.88

11.99 Diethyl phthalate C12H14O4 222 42.10

16.75 Hexanoic acid, 2-methyl- C7H14O2 130 0.17

17.35 Hexadecanoic acid C16H32O2 256 10.40

19.49 4-Dodecanol C12H26O 186 0.52

20.17 4-Tetradecene,(E) C14H28 196 2.41

belonging to Rhodophyceae collected from the coastal

zones of Qatar contained palmitic (16:0), myristic (14:0),

oleic (18:1), eicosodienoic (20:2), linoleic (18:2), stearic

(18:0) and hexadecaenoic acid (16:1) as major fatty acids.

The fatty acids were characterized by the relatively high

abundance of polyunsaturated acids, while the C18

unsaturated acids were appreciably more abundant than the

C20 unsaturated acids (Heiba, 2005). In the present

investigation, red seaweed Gracilaria verrucosa recorded

Hexadecanoic acid (16:1) and Oleic Acid (18:0) identified

as dominant which are important in nutraceutical point of

view (Ginneken et al., 2011). As reported by (Namikoshi

et al., 2006), diethyl phthalate represented as major

constituent in the methyl esters of Gracilaria corticata var.

corticata, Acanthophora spicifera and green seaweed

Chaetomorpha linum through GC/MS study indicated that

these seaweeds would be a good source for bioactive

compounds production (Gezgin and Güven, 2001;

Venkatesh et al., 2011) rather than nutraceutical values.

In conclusion, this study indicated that seaweeds

such as red, Jania rubens, Gracilaria verrucosa,

Gracilaria edulis, Hypnea musciformis, H. valentiae,

Grateloupia filicina; and green seaweeds Ulva lactuca and

Chaetomorpha linum are promising not only for traditional

%

of

Pea

k

area

Are

a

Retention time (Minute)

Arunkumar et al., 2014

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cell wall polysaccharides extraction but also as a source of

specific nutraceutical values like dietary fiber, pigments,

carbohydrates, protein and amino acids supplements in the

food and fodder. Specifically seaweeds such as Gracilaria

verrucosa, Gracilaria corticata var. corticata,

Acanthophora spicifera and green seaweed, Chaetomorpha

linum can be utilized not only as source of nutraceutical

supplements but also for fatty acids as well as bioactive

compounds.

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