Fatty acids composition of Cystoseira sauvageauana and Laurencia pinnatifida collected from the Algerian coast

Abstract

Algae are a significant part of biodiversity and studies on their bioactive compounds are numerous. The aim of this work was to study the fatty acid profile of Cystoseira sauvageauana and Laurencia pinnatifida collected from the Algerian coast. Different conventional and alternative methods were used for lipids extraction and GCMS analysis for fatty acids methyl esters identification. The lipids content was low (<1%) for the two species while the highest yield was obtained by Folch method assisted with a pulsed electric field. The identified fatty acids in both species ranged from C14 to C20 carbon atoms, of which palmitic acid was the major compound. Regarding polyunsaturated fatty acids, in C. sauvageauana arachidonic acid (C20:4) was the major constituent in extraction methods using the chloroform: methanol mixture as solvent, while in the method using hexane, linoleic acid (C18:2) was found as the main constituent. In L. pinnatifida, eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5) was the major fatty acid followed by arachidonic acid. In comparison between the two species the best polyunsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids ratio was found in ultrasound assisted methods in C. sauvageauana. The omega-6/omega-3 ratio was considered satisfactory for both species; however, it was better in L. pinnatifida. The obtained results showed the influence of the solvent and the extraction method on the total lipid yield and the fatty acids composition in algal extracts. In addition, these two species could find an application in the field of food and pharmaceuticals.

Keywords

• cystoseira sauvageauana
• laurencia pinnatifida
• algae
• fatty acids
• gc/ms