Fatty acid profile of different species of algae of the Cystoseira genus: a nutraceutical perspective

Abstract

The fatty acid (FA) composition of six macroalgae from the Cystoseira genus, namely Cystoseira compressa, Cystoseira humilis, Cystoseira tamariscifolia, Cystoseira nodicaulis, Cystoseira baccata and Cystoseira barbata, was determined. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) corresponded to 29–46% of the total FA detected. C. compressa, C. tamariscifolia and C. nodicaulis stood out for their low PUFA/saturated fatty acid, low n-6 PUFA/n-3 PUFA ratios as well as favourable unsaturation, atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices, suggesting a high nutritional value with potential applications in the nutraceutical industry.

Keywords::

• brown algae
• Cystoseira
• fatty acids
• nutrition
• PUFA

Acknowledgements

The authors would also like to thank Dr Ricardo Bermejo for kindly providing samples of C. barbata.

Notes

^1. Current address: School of Chemistry,Yachay Tech, Yachay City of Knowledge, 100119-Urcuqui, Ecuador.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support for this work was provided by the SEABIOMED (PTDC/MAR/103957/2008) project funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese National Budget. Vizetto-Duarte C. (SFRH/BD/81425/2011) and Bruno de Sousa C. (SFRH/BD/78062/2011) are FCT doctoral research fellows.