Chemical composition, antioxidant activity and sensory evaluation of five different species of brown edible seaweeds I. Peinado a, ⁎, J. Girón b , G. Koutsidis a , J.M. Ames c a Department of Applied Sciences, Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle City Campus, Ellison Place, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK b Institute of Food Engineering for Food Research and Development (IIAD), Universitat Politècnica de València, Cami de Vera S/N, Valencia 46022, Spain c Centre for Research in Biosciences, The University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK abstract article info Article history: Received 30 May 2014 Accepted 30 August 2014 Available online 6 September 2014 Chemical compounds studied in this article: Oleic acid (Pubchem CID: 445639) Myristic acid (Pubchem CID: 11005) Palmitic acid (Pubchem CID: 985) Eicosapentaenoic acid (Pubchem CID: 446284) Docosahexaenoic acid (Pubchem CID: 445580) Glutamic acid (Pubchem CID 611) Aspartic acid (Pubchem CID: 424) 1-Octen-3-ol (Pubchem CID: 18827) 2,4-Heptadienal (Pubchem CID: 20307) Keywords: Seaweeds Fatty acids Amino acids Nucleotides Antioxidant activity Sensory evaluation The chemical and volatile composition as well as sensory profile of five brown edible seaweeds collected in the United Kingdom, was evaluated. The ash content was 190–280 mg/g, NaCl 35.1–115.1 mg/g, protein 2.9–6.0 g/g, and fat 0.6–5.8 g/g (dry basis). Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus spiralis and Ascophyllum nodosum showed higher antiox- idant activities (DPPH and FRAP). Nucleotide concentrations were of the same order of magnitude as reported in other foods such as tomatoes or potatoes, except for F. vesiculosus where levels of nucleotides were 10 times higher. The fatty acids profile was dominated by oleic acid (21.9–41.45%), followed by myristic (6.63–26.75%) and palmitic (9.23–16.91%). Glutamic and aspartic acids (0.15–1.8 mg/g and 0.05–3.1 mg/g) were the most abundant amino acids. Finally, sensory and volatile analyses illustrated that Laminaria sp. had the strongest sea- weed and seafood-like aroma and taste. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Due to their low content of lipid, high concentration of polysac- charides, natural richness in minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins as well as their high content of bioactive molecules, ma- rine algae have, in recent years, received great attention (Gupta & Abu-Ghannam, 2011a,b). Algae are grouped into two main categories; the microalgae, found in both benthic and littoral habitats and also throughout the ocean waters as phytoplankton, and the macroalgae or seaweeds, which occupy the littoral zone, and can be classified as red (Rhodophyta), brown (Phaeophyta) or green (Chlorophyta), depending on their nutrient and chemical composition (Dawczynski, Schubert, & Jahreis, 2007; Gupta & Abu-Ghannam, 2011a). Red and brown algae are mainly used, within the traditional Japanese diet as sushi wrappings, seasonings, condiments and vegetables and can thus constitute between 10% and 25% of food intake of most Japanese people. Although the principal uses of seaweeds in Europe are as a source of phycocolloids (thickening and gelling agents) for various industrial applications, including uses in foods or as feed and fertiliser (Ortiz, Bozzo, Navarrete, Osorio, & Rios, 2006; Yaich et al., 2011), con- sumption of seaweed products has recently increased with currently, approximately 15–20 edible algae species being commonly marketed for consumption. These seaweed varieties differ greatly in their quality, colour, consistency, and nutrient content (Dawczynski et al., 2007; Mišurcová, 2011; Mišurcová, Ambrožová, et al., 2011; Mišurcová, Machů, et al., 2011). Different authors have pointed out that the chem- ical composition of seaweeds varies with species, habitats, maturity and environmental conditions (Ortiz et al., 2006; Sanchez-Machado, Lopez-Cervantes, & Lopez-Hernandez, 2004). Food Research International 66 (2014) 36–44 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: irene.pardo@northumbria.ac.uk (I. Peinado). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2014.08.035 0963-9969/© 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Research International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodres