Determination of the Seasonal Yields of Total Fucose and Fucoidan Yields in Brown Seaweeds (Order Fucales) Distributed along the Coast of Urla (izmir, Turkey)

Abstract

The brown seaweeds have been recognized as a potential source of biologically active Fucoidan, a mucilaginous sulfated poly- saccharide consisting mainly of a polymer of α-L-fucose-4-sulfate but with persistent amounts of other sugars, mainly Xylose and Ga- lactose and have been reported to have Anti-Cancer, Anti-Obesity and Anti-Inflammatory effects. This study was carried out to determine the seasonal yields of total Fucose and Fucoidan from brown seaweed species (Order Fu- cales) of Cystoseira barbata, C. compressa and Sargassum vulgare distributed naturally along the coast of Urla (İzmir, Turkey) using a colorimetric method. Mean fucoidan yields were 6.44±1.44% (dry weight basis) for Cystoseira barbata, 3.84±1.14% for Sargassum vulgare and 3.04±1.77% for C. compressa (n=3). The highest Fucoidan yields in these species were determined in the fall season (P≤0.05). Keywords: