Nutritional profile of edible marine macroalgae: macronutrients

In this study, the nutritional profile of widely consumed species of seaweed (commercially available in the Portuguese market) was evaluated. Three brown macroalgae, Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame), Laminaria japonica (Kombu) and Hizikia fusiforme (Hijiki), and three red ones, Palmaria palmata (Dulse), Porphyra tenera (Nori) and Eisenia bicyclis (Arame), from different geographical origins (Japan and Galiza, Spain) were analysed. The chemical analyses were performed to determine moisture, ash, protein, fat and carbohydrate contents. The algae samples are commercialized dry, therefore, the moisture content was very low (~10%). The ash content was around 17-38% in brown algae and 10-17% in red algae. Protein levels ranged from 6 to 33%. The highest levels were found in red species, especially in Porphyra tenera. The fat content was less than 1%. The carbohydrate content, which includes the dietary fibre, ranged from 38 to 69%. The results of this work show that the analysed macroalgae can be interesting alternative sources of protein, minerals, and, eventually, fibre. Further studies are being conducted in order to better characterize these species in what concerns to their chemical composition and potential health effects.