89A-26

G. USTUN¹, A. Ersoy², S. Yucel¹, and Z. Ulger³. (1) Chemical Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical Univ., Maslak, Istanbul, 34469, Turkey, (2) Research and Development Dept, Arcelik, Tuzla, Istanbul, 34950, Turkey, (3) Research and Development Department, Arcelik, Tuzla, Istanbul, 34950, Turkey

Seaweeds have been used since ancient times as food, fodder, and fertilizer and as sources of medicinal drugs, particularly in Asian countries. In Western countries the principal use of seaweeds has been as source of alginate, carrageenan and agar. In addition, seaweeds can be a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA, 20:5), arachidonic (AA, 20:4), and gamma linolenic (GLA,18:3) acids considered to be of major importance in term of human health. The fatty acid data for different marine macroalgae species, especially originating from Atlantic, Pacific Oceans and Mediterranean Sea, are available in the literature. However, information on the fatty acids of seaweeds collected from Turkish coasts is lacking. The objective of this study was to determine the fatty acid composition of the two green algae species, Codium fragile (Suringer) Hariot and Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, originating from Marmara Sea, Turkey. The samples of Codium fragile and Ulva lactuca were collected from Marmara Sea, lyophilized and then extracted by the method of Bligh-Dyer. Fatty acid compositions of these samples were determined by Hewlett-Packard 5890 Series II GC. Fatty acid composition of C. fragile presented high proportions of 16:0 (14.6%), 16:1 (8.6%), 18:0 (9.3%), 18:2 (15.2%),GLA (4.3%), conjugated 18:3 (24.3%), and 18:4 (7.0%). The modest levels of EPA (2.3%), AA (2.0%) and conjugated C20 (2.8%)acids were detected in C. fragile lipids. In U. lactuca lipids, 16:0 (21.7%), 16:1 (5.9%), 18:1 (7.2%), 18:2 (24.3%), GLA(7.7%)and conjugated 18:3 (8.1%) acids were the major components. U. lactuca lipids also contained 2.1% EPA, 1.4% AA, 0.7% conjugated C20 and 1.5% 22:5 acids. Turkish origin C. fragile and U. lactuca species contained high levels of PUFA, 47.6 and 32.7%, respectively. These seaweed species would be suitable source of PUFA for inclusion in the formulation of highly unsaturated diets.

Session 89A, Aquatic Food Products: General
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Tuesday PM Room Hall I-2

2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana