Seasonal and geographic variations of Macrocystis pyrifera chemical composition at the western coast of Baja California

Abstract

The seasonal and geographic variation of mannitol, iodine, lipids, proteins, crude fiber, ashes, humidity, sodium alginate content and the determination of viscosity and pH in the last were studied in samples of Macrocystis pyrifera that were collected seasonally at three localities of Baja California peninsula: Ensenada, B.C., Santo Tomas, B.C., and Bahia Tortugas, B.C.S. The highest percentages corresponded to ashes (34.22-41.43%) and sodium alginates (18.8-26.50%). The alginates viscosity showed a marked seasonal variation that ranges from 132 to 999 cps at 1.25% in solution. The crude protein content varied from 5.13 to 12.72%, whilst in mannitol these ranged from 2.06 to 15.03% and crude fiber from 6.38 to 8.86%. The lipids (0.69-1.14%) and iodine (0.083-0.115%) contents recorded the lowest values.