Nutrient content of tropical edible seaweeds, Eucheuma cottonii, Caulerpa lentillifera and Sargassum polycystum Patricia Matanjun & Suhaila Mohamed & Noordin M. Mustapha & Kharidah Muhammad Received: 16 March 2007 / Revised and Accepted: 10 March 2008 / Published online: 22 May 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract The proximate composition, vitamin C, α-to- copherol, dietary fibers, minerals, fatty acid and amino acid profiles of three tropical edible seaweeds, Eucheuma cottonii (Rhodophyta), Caulerpa lentillifera (Chlorophyta) and Sargassum polycystum (Phaeophyta) were studied. The seaweeds were high in ash (37.15–46.19%) and dietary fibers (25.05–39.67%) and low in lipid content (0.29– 1.11%) on dry weight (DW) basis. These seaweeds contained 12.01–15.53% macro-minerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg) and 7.53–71.53 mg.100 g -1 trace minerals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Se and I). The crude protein content of E. cottonii (9.76% DW) and C. lentillifera (10.41% DW) were higher than that of S. polycystum (5.4% DW), and protein chemical scores are between 20 and 67%. The PUFA content of E. cottonii was 51.55%, C. lentillifera 16.76% and S. polycystum 20.34%. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), accounted for 24.98% of all fatty acids in E. cottonii. These seaweeds have significant vitamin C (∼35 mg.100 g -1 ) and α- tocopherol (5.85–11.29 mg.100 g -1 ) contents. Keywords Seaweeds . Nutrient composition . Dietary fiber . Minerals . Omega-3 fatty acids . Amino acids Introduction The chemical composition of edible seaweeds from some regions of the world has been well documented, but no reports are available on the nutritive value of the tropical seaweeds of North Borneo. Climate and sea conditions may cause differences in nutrient composition of seaweeds (Burtin 2003; Darcy-Vrillon 1993). The recent increasing demand for seaweed products, as food, fodder, fertilizer and sources of medicinal drugs (Sánchez-Machado et al. 2004), justify this investigation on the nutritional composition of three of the most antioxidative tropical edible species namely, Eucheuma cottonii, Caulerpa lentillifera and Sargassum polycystum from the Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta and Phaeophyta, respectively (Matanjun et al. 2008). This information is essential in the search for additional healthy food sources from the sea for use in human and animal nutrition. Materials and methods The three seaweeds were collected from the coastal areas of North Borneo, Malaysia. Eucheuma cottonii was harvested from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) farms in Bangi, Sabah (north coast of North Borneo), C. lentillifera from Semporna (east coast of North Borneo) and S. polycystum from Kota Kinabalu (west coast of North Borneo). Fresh seaweeds were thoroughly washed with distilled water, and their holdfasts and epiphytes removed, and then placed in a freezer (-20°C) immediately after collection. Dried ground samples were used for most of the analyses except for vitamin C and fatty acids composition where fresh samples were used. The ground samples were stored in air-tight plastic containers covered with aluminium foil and stored at J Appl Phycol (2009) 21:75–80 DOI 10.1007/s10811-008-9326-4 P. Matanjun School of Food Science and Nutrition, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag 2073, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia S. Mohamed (*) : K. Muhammad Faculty of Food Science & Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia e-mail: suhaila@food.upm.edu.my N. M. Mustapha Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia