Growth, pigments, and biochemical

composition of marine red alga Gracilaria

crassa
Ravi S.Baghel, Puja Kumari,
C.R.K.Reddy & Bhavanath Jha

Journal of Applied Phycology

ISSN 0921-8971
Volume 26
Number 5
J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:2143-2150
DOI 10.1007/s10811-014-0250-5

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Author's personal copy

J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:21432150
DOI 10.1007/s10811-014-0250-5

Growth, pigments, and biochemical composition of marine red

alga Gracilaria crassa
Ravi S. Baghel & Puja Kumari & C. R. K. Reddy &
Bhavanath Jha

Received: 21 December 2013 / Revised and accepted: 22 January 2014 / Published online: 12 February 2014
# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Abstract The marine red alga Gracilaria crassa was investigated for its proximate composition, minerals, fatty acids,
amino acids, and agar content to decipher its nutritional implications. The growth performance and pigments were studied under different combinations of temperature and salinity.
On a dry weight basis the total lipid content was 1.300.05 %,
protein was 5.180.64 %, carbohydrate was 42.01.2 %, ash
was 43.181.15 %, and agar content was 21.520.73 %.
Appreciable amounts of macro-, micro-nutrients (K>Na, Ca,
Mg, and Fe), and essential amino acids (Ileu, His, Thr, Leu,
and Lys) were found. Palmitic, stearic acid, and arachidonic
acid were major fatty acids detected. The alga showed maximum daily growth rate (DGR %) 5.80.09 % at 25 C, 35
salinity. The highest content of pigment R-phycoerythrin
(444.71.9 g g1 fresh weight (FW) basis) was obtained at
25 salinity at 35 C while that of R-phycocyanin (476.3
2.3 g g1 DW) at 30 salinity at 30 C. This study revealed
that this alga can be utilized as a potential source for food and
feed. The data generated on best growth conditions will be
very useful for farming of G. crassa in open sea. This alga
could be used for production of natural colorants at defined
control condition.

Keywords Gracilaria crassa . Proximate composition .

Natural pigments . Minerals . Amino acid . Fatty acids

R. S. Baghel : P. Kumari : C. R. K. Reddy (*) : B. Jha

CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute,
Bhavnagar 364002, Gujarat, India
e-mail: crk@csmcri.org
R. S. Baghel : C. R. K. Reddy : B. Jha
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR,
New Delhi, India

Introduction
Seaweeds are benthic marine macroalgae occurring naturally
along the sea coasts worldwide, as well as cultivated for their
applications in food, fodder, phycocolloids, pharmaceuticals,
therapeutics, and fertilizers. The health beneficial bioactive
compounds of untapped seaweeds have emerged as an appealing attribute to the functional food industry (Mohamed
et al. 2012). Asian countries especially Japan, China, and
Korea, have a long tradition of seaweed consumption while
western countries are mainly involved in phycocolloids production such as alginate, agar, and carrageenan from seaweeds
(Mohamed et al. 2012). Several epidemiological studies have
emphasized the health benefits allied to the consumption of
seaweeds (Cassolato et al. 2008; Hold and Kraan 2011), and
rekindled interest in the formulation of health-promoting food
using macroalgae as one of the ingredients, such as, addition
of Enteromorpha spp., Undaria pinnatifida, Himanthalia
elongata, Porphyra umbilicalis, and Sargassum thunbergii
in snack foods, pasta, patties, bakery products, low fat frankfurters, and meat products (Chun et al. 1999; Lpez-Lpez
et al. 2009).
Seaweeds are good sources of protein, carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), amino acids, antioxidants,
minerals, dietary fibers, and vitamins (Chandini et al. 2008;
Mohamed et al. 2012). The nutritional composition of seaweeds varies with species, geographic area, season, and environmental conditions (Chandini et al. 2008). Nevertheless, a
detailed knowledge of biochemical composition of seaweeds
and their species level variations are essential for their potential utilization such as development of food products to fulfill
human demands. Several seaweeds including those of genus
Gracilaria have been investigated for their nutritional and
biochemical potentials from different parts of the world to
fully exploit their nutritive value (Kumar et al. 2011;
McDermid and Stuercke 2003; Tabarsa et al. 2012). Among

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Rhodophyta, Gracilaria is one of the edible seaweed and

major commercial source of agar and agarose (McDermid
and Stuercke 2003; Baghel et al. 2011). Recently, Gracilaria
domingensis has been reported for its industrially important
pigment potential (Pereira et al. 2012).
Gracilaria crassa grows naturally along the Mandapam
coast, Tamil Nadu, India. To date there is no detail information
available regarding the growth, biochemical composition, and
nutritional potential of this species. Thus, the present investigation was carried out to determine the agar content, pigments, and proximate biochemical composition (carbohydrate, lipid, fatty acids, amino acids, and mineral contents)
to evaluate the nutritional potential of G. crassa. Further, the
culture conditions (temperature and salinity) were also studied
to obtain best growth of this alga under laboratory conditions
with the future prospect of cultivation. The effect of varying
culture conditions on pigment contents was analyzed to determine the optimum culture conditions for pigment extraction
from G. crassa.

Materials and methods

Gracilaria crassa was collected from Mandapam coast, Tamil
Nadu, India. The sample was transported to the laboratory
wrapped in wet tissue towels under cool conditions. The
thalli were washed with sterile seawater to remove undesired foreign particles and epiphytes. Approximately
3 g of algal tissues were frozen and stored at 40 C
for the determination of fatty acid and amino acid content while 10 g of cleaned thalli were cultured in 800 ml
of autoclave seawater (32 ) in 1-L culture flask supplemented with sterilized PES medium (20 mL L1) at
25 1 C under daylight white fluorescent lamps at
15 mol photons m2 s1 with a 12:12 h light:dark
photoperiod and rest of the material was shade dried
for the determination of biochemical composition.
To study the daily growth rate (DGR %), algal thalli were
cultured in 500-mL culture flasks containing 400 mL of
autoclave seawater with different salinities (25, 30, 35, and
40 ) and were grown at different temperatures (20, 25,
30, and 35 C) in growth chamber. All cultures were
supplemented with sterile PES medium (20 mL L1) and
GeO2 (20 g mL1). The medium was changed every
alternate day. The biomass was measured after 15 days
of culture. Each treatment was performed in triplicates.
The daily growth rate (DGR) was determined by using
the formula: DGR %=[(W2/W1)1/t1]100 where W2 is
the final fresh weight in grams, W1 is the initial fresh
weight in gram and t is the number of culture days. The
effect of different salinities and temperature on the pigment content of the alga was also determined.

J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:21432150

Quantification of pigments
For the quantification of pigments, R-phycoerythrin (R-PE)
and R-phycocyanin (R-PC), 100 mg of fresh algal tissues were
homogenized in liquid nitrogen with mortar and pestle. The
homogenate were added to 0.8 mL of 0.1 M phosphate buffer
(pH 6.8) and incubated overnight at 4 C. After incubation,
homogenized samples were vortexed and centrifuged at
15,000g for 10 min, 4 C. The supernatant were collected
and residues were added to 0.2 mL phosphate buffer followed
by vortexing. Homogenate were centrifuged at 15,000g for
10 min, 4 C and supernatants were collected. The absorbances were recorded at 564, 618, and 730 nm using a dualbeam UV-visible spectrophotometer. The contents of R-PE
and R-PC were calculated according to Sampath-Wiley and
Neefus (2007).
Proximate composition analysis
The moisture content was analyzed by drying seaweed sample
at 105 C until a constant weight was obtained. Ash content
was determined by ignition of dry sample at 550 C in an
electric furnace for 6 h. CHNS content was analyzed with dry
fine grounded sample using the instrument, Elementar
Analysensysteme GmbH vario MICRO cube, calibrated using
sulfanilamide as a reference standard. The total lipid content
was determined by Bligh and Dyer (1959) method, total
protein by multiplying the nitrogen content by a factor of
6.25. The total carbohydrate content was analyzed spectrophotometrically according to the anthrone method (JimnezEscrig et al. 2012).
Mineral composition analysis
For mineral composition, 100 mg ground dried samples were
treated with 10 mL of concentrated HNO3 overnight (Santoso
et al. 2006). Thereafter, 2.5 mL concentrated HClO4 and
250 L H2SO4 were added to the samples followed by heating
until no white smoke was emitted. One hundred milliliters of
2 % HCl was added in the digested sample and filtered with a
0.22-m membrane filter. The samples were analyzed using
inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy
(PerkinElmer, Optima 2000, USA).
Amino acid and fatty acid analysis
The amino acid composition was determined by hydrolysis of
total protein content of alga. Total protein was extracted from
G. crassa by homogenizing 100 mg fresh weight sample in
1 mL of extraction buffer containing 0.5 M TrisHCl (pH 8.0),
0.7 M sucrose, 50 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, 0.1 M
KCl, 2 % (v/v) -mercaptoethanol and 2 mM
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. The homogenate were

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J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:21432150

centrifuged at 15,000g for 30 min at 4 C. The extracted

protein was precipitated by adding 5 volumes 0.1 N ammonium acetate in methanol, incubated for 3 h at 20 C. Incubated
sample was centrifuged at 15,000g for 30 min at 4 C. The
supernatant was removed and pellet was washed with acetone
followed by room drying. The hydrolysis of total protein was
carried out in glass tube with 500 L of 6 N HCl. The vacuum
was created with nitrogen flushing and tube was sealed. The
sample was hydrolyzed at 110 C for 24 h. After hydrolysis,
sample was dried under vacuum. Precolumn derivatization
was carried out according to Kwanyuen and Burton (2010).
Both the hydrolyzed G. crassa protein sample and amino acid
standard (AAS18, Sigma-Aldrich) were neutralized by adding
20 L of a mixture of ethanol:water:TEA in 2:2:1 (v/v), and
mixed properly through vortexing and dried under vacuum.
The derivatization was carried out by addition of 20 L of
solvent mixture of ethanol:water:TEA:PITC in 7:1:1:1 (v/v),
followed by vortexing. The samples were kept at room temperature for 20 min to permit the reaction between PITC and
the hydrolysate to form phenylthiocarbamyl amino acids.
Samples were then completely dried under vacuum and dissolved in 500 L of 5 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4 containing 5 % acetonitrile. The solution was filtered with a 0.2-m
membrane. The HPLC analysis was carried out according to
Kwanyuen and Burton (2010).
Fatty acids were estimated as fatty acid methyl esters by
following the direct transesterification method (de la CruzGarcia et al. 2000). FAMEs were solubilized in 50 L toluene
and analyzed by GCMS on QP2010 gas chromatography
mass spectrometer (GC-2010 coupled with GCMS QP2010) equipped with an autosampler (AOC-5000) from
Shimadzu (Japan) using a RTX-5 fused silica capillary column, 30 m0.25 mm0.25 m (Rastek) according to Kumari
et al. (2013). FAME peaks were identified by comparison of
their retention times with authentic standards (FAME Mix,
Supelco) by GCMS post run analysis and quantified by area
normalization.
Agar extraction and analysis of physical properties
The native agar was extracted following the method of Meena
et al. (2008). Physical properties (gel strength, gelling, and
melting temperatures) were determined in a 1.5 % agar solution. The gel strength grams per square centimeter was measured using Gel Tester (Kiya Seisakusho Ltd., Japan). Gelling
and melting temperatures of gel samples were measured following the method of Meena et al. (2008).
Statistical analysis
All the analyses were performed in triplicate (except agar and
amino acid content which were analyzed in duplicates) and
the mean values were recorded. Two-way ANOVA was

2145

performed to evaluate the effect of salinity and temperature

on daily growth rate and pigment contents (p0.05) using
Origin 8.6 software.

Results and discussion

Growth performance and pigments
Sixteen different combinations (temperature and salinity)
were tested to find out the best temperature and salinity for
the optimum growth of G. crassa. The study revealed that
temperature and salinity both significantly affected the daily
growth rate of alga (p0.05; Table 2). DGR % for different
combinations tested ranged from 1.780.23 to 5.880.9 %
(Fig. 1), with alga cultured in 35 salinity at 25 C showing
the maximum DGR % of 5.880.9 % which was significantly
higher from the growth rate reported for other Gracilaria spp.
(Kumar et al. 2010). The lowest DGR % was recorded for the
combination of 20 C and 40 which may be attributed to
temperature and salinity stress.
The contents of pigments R-phycoerythrin ranged from
174.4 0.7 to 444.7 1.9 g g 1 FW and that of Rphycocyanin ranged from 241.29.0 to 476.32.3 g g1
FW for the studied salinity and temperature ranges (Table 1).
The study revealed that temperature and salinity both significantly affected the pigments content of alga (p 0.05;
Table 2). The highest content of R-PE (444.71.9 g g1
FW) was obtained at 25 and 35 C while that of R-PC
(476.32.3 g g1 FW) at 30 and 30 C. The contents of
both R-PE and R-PC increased by 1.11.8-fold and 1.11.4fold respectively, at both the hypo- and hypersalinities as
compared to the normal growth condition of alga (35 and
25 C), except R-PE content at 40 and temperatures 25 and
30 C and R-PC content at 20 C. The increase in contents of
R-PE and R-PC could be attributed to the antioxidant activity
of these algae to protect the photosynthetic apparatus (CanoEuropa et al. 2010). Kumar et al. (2010) also reported the
accumulation of phycobiliproteins (R-PE and R-PC) at both
the hyper- and hypo-saline conditions in Gracilaria corticata,
and emphasized their role as storage proteins for acclimation
to adverse conditions. Thus, the salinity of 25 and temperature of 35 C could be employed for culturing G. crassa for
the commercial production of R-PE, while salinity of 30
and temperature of 30 C for the maximum yield of R-PC.
Proximate composition
The C, H, N, and S contents were 31.751.62, 5.180.64,
0.830.11, and 1.560.01 %, respectively, on a dry weight
(DW) basis. The moisture content was 7.460.3 % and ash
content was 43.181.15 % DW (Table 3) which is in accordance to ash contents (22.7 to 53.4 % DW) reported in

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J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:21432150

Fig. 1 Effect of different salinity

and temperature combinations on
the growth of G. crassa

literature for Gracilaria spp. (Gressler et al. 2010; McDermid

and Stuercke 2003; Tabarsa et al. 2012). Such higher ash
contents are reported to contain microelements important for
human and animal nutrition. In general, the carbohydrate
content varies from 40.81 to 61.63 %, protein content from
5.6 to 14.76 %, and lipid content from 0.57 to 5.2 % on dry
weight basis for Gracilaria spp. collected from different regions (Gressler et al. 2010; Kumar et al. 2011; Kumari, Kumar
et al. 2010; McDermid and Stuercke 2003; Narasimman and
Murugaiyan 2012; Rohani-Ghadikolaei et al. 2012). In present investigation, G. crassa had higher carbohydrate content
(42.01.2 %,) followed by protein (5.180.72 %) and lipid
content (1.300.05 %) on dry weight basis (Table 3), similar
to the values reported for G. corticata, Gracilaria salicornia,
Gracilaria dura, Gracilaria debilis, Gracilaria fergusonii,
G. domingensis, and Gracilaria birdiae (Gressler et al.
2010; Kumar et al. 2011; Kumari et al. 2010, 2013;
McDermid and Stuercke 2003; Narasimman and
Murugaiyan 2012; Rohani-Ghadikolaei et al. 2012). As typical algal carbohydrates are not entirely digested by humans
due to absence of the required degradative enzymes, such high
carbohydrate content can be utilized as a good source of
dietary fibers for human nutrition.

Mineral composition
G. crassa contained high amounts of minerals (16,027.4
344.08 mg (100 g)1 DW; Table 4), which was significantly
higher from mineral content reported for G. salicornia,
G. corticata, Gracilaria fisheri, Gracilaria tenuistipitata,
Gracilaria coronopifolia, and Gracilaria parvipora
(Benjama and Masniyom 2012; McDermid and Stuercke
2003; Tabarsa et al. 2012), and similar to the mineral contents
reported for Gracilaria spp. from Gujarat coast, India (Kumar
et al. 2011). The investigated alga contained good quantity of
macro-elements (K, Na, Mg, and Ca) and microelements (Fe,
Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo, and Ni; Table 4). The studied alga had high
K>Na level (K/Na ratio of 2.78:1) similar to the high potassium values reported in various Gracilaria spp., up to 16 %
DW (Benjama and Masniyom 2012; Kumar et al. 2011;
McDermid and Stuercke 2003; Tabarsa et al. 2012). Such high
K>Na ratio is a boon for human health and would help in
reducing blood lipid level, obesity, and risk of coronary heart
diseases (Benjama and Masniyom 2012). Further, Ca level
was comparable to those of lettuce (177.4 mg (100 g)1 DW)
and cabbage (368 mg (100 g)1 DW) while Fe level was even
higher than spinach (23.3 mg (100 g)1 DW) (US Department

Table 1 Pigment content in Gracilaria crassa cultured under different salinity and temperature combinations (meanSD, n=3)
R-Phycocyanin (R-PC)
(g g1 FW)

R-Phycoerythrin (R-PE)
(g g1 FW)
/C
25
30
35
40

20 C
174.410.70
262.130.98
186.861.77
269.821.78

25 C
272.391.88
287.911.50
252.282.37
237.132.52

30 C
293.542.71
266.731.02
364.302.45
232.801.68

35 C
444.721.90
347.401.78
287.42 4.63
424.871.31

20 C
241.269.02
346.501.54
246.917.75
364.982.66

25 C
391.673.55
395.787.05
343.933.87
406.044.95

30 C
396.293.55
476.372.35
387.054.95
425.553.87

35 C
389.104.44
354.204.07
455.327.75
463.5413.3

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Table 2 Effect of temperature
and salinity on daily growth rate
and pigments as analyzed by twoway ANOVA using OriginPro 8.6

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Factors

Degree of
freedom

Daily growth rate (DGR %)

Temperature (T)
3
Salinity (S)
3
Interaction (T S)
9
Model
15
Error
32
R-Phycoerythrin (R-PE) content
Temperature (T)
3
Salinity (S)
3
Interaction (T S)
9
Model
15
Error
32
R-Phycocyanin (R-PC) content
Temperature (T)
3
Salinity (S)
3
Interaction (T S)
9
Model
15
Error
32

of Agriculture and Agricultural research service 2001). The

intake of this alga will help to overcome their deficiency of Ca
and particularly Fe in growing children and particularly preand post-menopausal women (Cofrades et al. 2010).
Amino acid and fatty acid profile
Amino acid composition (Table 5; Fig. 2) of G. crassa showed
that it contained nine essential amino acids (EAA) accounting
to 230.0223.99 mg g1 protein and seven non-essential
amino acids (NEAA) accounting to 391.91 mg g1 protein.
EAA represented 42 % of total amino acid fraction and the
ratio of EAA/NEAA was 0.59:1 which was quite lower to the
earlier reports of 0.7:11:1 in Gracilaria spp. (Benjama and
Masniyom 2012; Gressler et al. 2010; Tabarsa et al. 2012).
However, this alga contained comparable amounts of isoleucine (Ileu), histidine (His), threonine (Thr), leucine (Leu), and
lysine (Lys) as compared to FAO/WHO report (WHO/FAO/
UNU 2002), and contributed to 76.8 % of total EAA.
Moreover, according to different reports, lysine is considered
Table 3 Proximate
chemical composition
of Gracilaria crassa
(meanSD, n=3)

Component

Content (% dry weight)

Moisture
Protein
Lipid
Carbohydrates
Ash

7.460.3
5.180.64
1.300.05
42.01.2
43.181.15

Sum of square

Mean sum of square

F value

P value

33.90
20.44
7.56
61.91
1.54

11.3
6.81
0.84
4.12
0.048

234.82
141.61
17.45
85.76

0
0
5.41010
0

151,235.15
3,850.61
98,155.72

50,411.71
1,283.53
10,906.19

11,079.73
282.10
2,397.01

0
0
0

253,241.49
145.59

16,882.76
4.54

3,710.57

112,833.76
30,214.72
54,200.99
197,249.47
1,169.98

37,611.25
10,071.57
6,022.33
13,149.96
36.56

1,028.69
275.46
164.71
359.66

0
0
0
0

as the limiting amino acid in seaweeds, but it represented

16.6 % of EAA in the investigated alga. Further, the contents
of aspartate and glutamate which are responsible for special
flavor and taste of seaweed, were higher representing 51.9 %
of NEAAs as reported earlier for different seaweeds including
Gracilaria spp. (Benjama and Masniyom 2012; Gressler et al.
2010; Tabarsa et al. 2012).
Fatty acid profile of G. crassa (Table 6) showed that it
contained higher saturated fatty acids (87.53 %) due to higher
contents of palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) that
together represented 85.45 % of total fatty acid methyl esters
(TFAs). Palmitoleic and oleic acid were the major monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) detected and arachidonic acid
was the major polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in congruence to the earlier reports in sibling Gracilaria spp. (Gressler
Table 4 Major minerals
and trace elements determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry
in Gracilaria crassa
(meanSD, n=3)

Mineral

Minerals (mg (100 g)1 DW)

K
Na
Mg
Ca
Fe
Mn
Zn
Cu
Mo
Ni

11,170686.94
4,105682.0
438.57.78
255.635.76
29.72.30
8.332.28
6.330.75
0.8860.25
0.660.15
0.3660.05

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2148
Table 5 Amino acid composition
of Gracilaria crassa (meansSD,
n=2)

J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:21432150

Amino acid

1
2
3
4

Essential amino acids (EAA)

Methionine
49.0323
Leucine
306.7019
Lysine
227.7333
Cysteine
23.708.6

5
6
7
8
9

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Tyrosine
117.9313
Histidine
71.260.6
Iso-leucine
227.5916
Valine
126.298.8
Threonine
216.3717
Total EAA
1,366.63142.52
Non-essential amino acids (NEAA)
Proline
157.4817
Glycine
203.912.2
Aspartic acid
698.4119
Arginine
240.077.0
Glutamic acid
510.4638
Alanine
266.7828
Serine
251.4118
Total NEAA
2,328.5590.07
Total amino acids
3,695.18232.59

et al. 2010; Kumari et al. 2010; Tabarsa et al. 2012). Recently,

Kumari et al. (2013) studied eight different Gracilaria spp.
from Gujarat coast, India, and reported higher SFAs (31.2
78.2 % of TFAs), MUFAs (4.111.7 % of TFAs), and PUFAs
(11.562.8 % of TFAs) with arachidonic acid the major
PUFA. The FA profile of G. crassa was found to be similar
to that of G. salicornia (Kumari et al. 2013; Tabarsa
et al. 2012) in respect to SFA, palmitic, and arachidonic
acid content as well as no n3-fatty acids were detected.
Due to higher SFA contents, unsaturation index and

Fig. 2 Amino acid profile of

G. crassa. ASP aspartic acid,
GLU glutamic acid, SER serine,
GLY glycine, HIS histidine, ARG
arginine, THR threonine, ALA
alanine, PRO proline, TYR
tyrosine, VAL valine, MET
methionine, CYS cysteine, ILEU
isoleucine, LEU leucine, LYS
lysine (asterisks unidentified
peak)

(g g1 FW)

S. no.

(mg g1 DW)

(mg g1 protein)

0.430.20
2.670.17
1.990.29
0.210.08

8.263.93
51.623.31
38.335.64
3.991.45

1.030.12
0.620.01
1.980.15
1.100.08
1.890.16
11.911.24

19.852.25
12.000.11
38.312.80
21.241.49
36.423.02
230.0223.99

1.370.15
1.780.02
6.090.17
2.090.06
4.450.34
2.330.24
2.190.16
20.030.79
32.222.03

26.512.89
34.320.38
117.553.35
40.411.1
85.926.54
44.904.72
42.313.14
391.9115.16
621.9339.15

PUFA/SFA ratio of the investigated alga was very low in the

investigated alga.
Agar yield and physical properties
The agar yield of G. crassa was 21.520.73 % with gel
strength of 29014 g cm2. The gelling temperature and
melting temperature were 38.751.06 and 820.70 C, respectively. The native agar yield obtained from G. crassa was
comparable to those yields obtained from Gracilaria foliifera,

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J Appl Phycol (2014) 26:21432150
Table 6 Fatty acid composition of Gracilaria
crassa given in means
SD (% of total fatty acid
methyl esters; FAMEs)

U.I. (unsaturation index) was calculated by

multiplying the percentage of each fatty acid by
the number of double
bonds followed by summing up these
contributions

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FAs

G. crassa

C14:0
C16:0
C17:0
C18:0
C20:0a

1.270.22
52.890.59
0.340.03
32.560.9
0.470.08

C16:1(n-7)
C18:1(n-9)trans
C18:1(n-9)
C18:2(n-6)
C20:3(n-6)
C20:4(n-6)
SFA
UFA
MUFA
PUFA
C18PUFA
C20PUFA
n6PUFA
PUFA/SFA
U.I.a

0.340.15
1.610.58
1.580.14
0.670.32
0.590.37
7.701.18
87.531.3
12.581.27
3.533.8
9.051.01
0.670.32
8.380.9
9.051.01
0.10.01
37.83.84

G. crassa, but higher than that of G. corticata (Meena et al.

2008). Furthermore, gel strength of native agar obtained from
G. crassa was significantly higher in comparison to those
reported from other Gracilaria species (Meena et al. 2008;
Ordua-Rojas et al. 2008).
In conclusion, seaweed G. crassa contained good quantity
of carbohydrates, essential amino acids (including limiting
amino acid lysine), micro- and macro-elements of nutritional
importance, and low lipid content. The high K/Na ratio along
with high Ca, Mg, and Fe contents confirmed the potential
utilization of this alga as mineral supplement. An appreciable
amount of natural pigments, R-phycoerythrin and Rphycocyanin were found that could be used to replace
harmful synthetic colorants used in food products.
Furthermore, satisfactory agar yield with good gel strength
was obtained which can be utilized as a gelling agent for
various food products. The nutritional composition of this alga
could offer its commercial cultivation as a source of human
diets and biochemical additives. The data generated on best
growth conditions will be very useful for G. crasaa farming in
the open sea.
Acknowledgments The financial support received from project CSC
0116 BioEn is gratefully acknowledged. The second author (PK) gratefully
acknowledges the CSIR, New Delhi for awarding the Senior Research
Fellowship (SRF). Authors would like to acknowledge Head, Analytical
sciences, CSIR-CSMCRI for providing instrumentation facilities.

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