Fatty acid, micronutrient, proximate composition and phytochemical analysis of red seaweed Tricleocarpa fragilis (L.) Huisman & R.A. towns from Andaman Sea, India

Abstract

In the present study red seaweed Tricleocarpa fragilis from Andaman Sea was investigated for its proximate composition viz., Carbohydrate (28.76%), Ash (42.29%), Moisture (24.05%), crude fiber (12.05%), lipid content (0.84%) and Protein (4.07%). The quantitative phytochemical analysis revealed that the total phenol and flavonoid content were (0.26%) and (0.83%) respectively. DPPH free radical scavenging activity showed 76% of antioxidant activity. Elemental composition (in ppm) of N (6500±0.72), B (61.342±0.22), Ca (26200±0.54), Cu (7.114±1.39), Fe (3000±0.63), Mg (5600±0.15), Mn (5600±0.15), K (20900 ±0.33), Na (16900±0.20) and Zn (11.37±0.46) were estimated. There were six types of fatty acids in the thallus of T. fragilis i.e. one type of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) upto 58%, four types of saturated fatty acid (SAFA) upto 38%, and another polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) upto 3.86% composition. These results suggest that the species has greater potential to be used as fuel, fodder and fertilizer and can be utilized as seaweed based industry from the Andaman Sea, India.