Nutritional value of the chilean seaweeds Cryptonemia obovata and Rhodymenia corallina

Abstract

Some nutritional components of the edible seaweeds Cryptonemia obovata and Rhodymenia corallina were determined. The amino acid content ranged from 1.0 ± 0.3 to 4174.2 ± 14.2 mg 100g-1 dry wt in C. obovata and between 0.9 ± 0.3 and 2657.0 ± 13.5 mg 100g-1 dry wt in R. corallina. The most abundant fatty acid in C. obovata was palmitic acid, reaching a value of 36.5 ± 0.2%, while in Rhodymenia corallina the main fatty acid was oleic acid, reaching a value of 24.7 ± 0.07%. Both seaweeds showed an important content of EPA (C20:5ω3). In C. obovata, α-tocopherol was the principal tocol (138.5 ± 4.9 mg kg -1 lipid), while in R. corallina, it was γ-tocotrienol (850.3 ± 9.4 mg kg-1 lipid). Furthermore, β-carotene was the main carotenoid pigment found in C. obovata.