Proximal Composition of Undaria pinnatifida from San Jorge Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina)

SALOMONE, VANESA N.; M. RIERA

BIOLOGICAL TRACE ELEMENT RESEARCH

HUMANA PRESS INC

Año: 2019

0163-4984

Undaria pinnatifida is a brown macroalga considered a high quality naturalfood because of its numerous health benefits. The aim of this paper is toprovide seasonal information on the chemical content of blades andsporophylls of U. pinnatifida from San Jorge Gulf (SJG, Chubut, Argentina)in order to evaluate their different uses. Moreover, samples of algae depositedon the beach are also studied. A multi-elemental analysis is made by TotalReflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF). Sixteen elements are quantified: As,Br, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sr, V and Zn. The results revealthat the mineral content in blades of U. pinnatifida is high, especially inautumn. Some elements show an important seasonal variation, such as: K (14-54.8 g kg ), P (2.7-7.0 g kg ), Sr (361?569 mg kg ), Fe (62?140 mg kg ),Zn (8?103 mg kg ), Br (45?94 mg kg ) and Rb (4?24 mg kg ). In the caseof potentially toxic elements, a variation was seen mainly in arsenic, withhigher values during summer and autumn. The concentrations of nickel andlead are below the limit of detection (0.9 mg kg ). Sporophylls contain highconcentrations of macro and micronutrients, with maximum values in spring.Besides, reproductive structures showed higher total arsenic values thanblades. This could indicate that arsenic is mainly accumulated in sporophylls.Algae deposited on the beach are considered a waste; but they show a similarelemental composition to the samples extracted from the sea. We concludedthat all samples analyzed could be used as food or fertilizers by localpopulations