Analysis of functional components and radical scavenging activity of 21 algae species collected from the Japanese coast.

The functional chemical substances and the antioxidant activity of lipids in 21 marine algae along the Japanese coast were investigated. Principal component analysis was performed to detect any correlation between the chemical substances and algae phylum. Chlorophyta contained a high level of ß-carotene. Rhodophyta contained high amounts of cholesterol, ß-sitosterol, and saturated fatty acids. Phaeophyta were rich in fucosterol, α-tocopherol, fucoxanthin, and polyphenol. Phaeophyta algae also showed the highest antioxidant activity compared with other phylum. This suggests that Phaeophyta has the greatest potential to be used as a functional food. Consumption of the beneficial Phaeophyta species, such as Eisenia arborea Areschoug and Ecklonia cava Kjellman should be encouraged as not only as food products but also as nutraceuticals and dietary supplements. These beneficial ingredients should be encouraged to be studied in depth with the possibility to develop specific formulated products target to special consumer's population with added nutritional value.

Relationship between 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal contents and commercial grade by organoleptic judgement in Japanese dried laver Porphyra spp.

To evaluate the correlation between the commercial grade determined by organoleptic judgment panel and chemical substances in dried laver Porphyra spp., we analyzed the contents of free amino acids, 5'-nucleotides, total lipids, fatty acids, α-tocopherol, lipophilic pigments, and aldehydes in several grades of laver that had been classified by an organoleptic judgment panel. Compared with the lower-grade laver samples, the excellent-grade laver samples contained higher concentrations of free amino acids, 5'-nucleotides, total lipids, α-tocopherol, chlorophyll a, and ß-carotene and lower concentrations of aldehydes such as 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (HHE), propanal, butanal, and 1-hexanal, which are formed during lipid peroxidation of n-3 or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, the HHE content was strongly correlated with the propanal content in the analyzed laver (r(2)=0.9123). These results showed that the commercial grade assigned by an organoleptic judgment panel was correlated with chemical substances associated with color, taste, and the prevention of lipid oxidation.