Composição centesimal e variação do teor de vitaminas em macroalgas marinhas verdes Ulva fasciata e U. lactuca (Ulvales,Chlorophyta), coletadas na Praia do Pacheco, Caucaia-Ceará

Abstract

Marine macroalgae have been shown to possess high amounts of proteins, dietary fibers, minerals and lipossoluble vitamins, and a relatively low lipid content, although the constituent fatty acids are highly unsaturated. Most of these compounds vary with regard to the time of year and ecological conditions, which may stimulate or inhibit the biosynthesis of these nutrients. Carotenoids are accessory pigments found in marine macroalgae, involved in the capture of sunlight and photoprotection. Vitamin E is the generic term used to refer to a group of substances found in nature, tocopherols and tocotrienols, which present different degrees of vitaminic activity. In macroalgae, tocopherols are found in the chloroplast membrane, predominantly as alpha-tocopherol, protecting the photosynthetic apparatus. The aim of this thesis was to analyze the centesimal composition (total protein, lipids, ash and carbohydrates) and seasonal variation of the vitamin content in the species Ulva fasciata and U. lactuca, collected on Pacheco Beach in Caucaia, Ceará, in 2007 during low tides. The material was divided in two portions of approximately 100 g each. The first portion was macerated with liquid nitrogen until the algal powder was obtained, and was used for the quantification of alpha- and beta-carotene, and alpha- and delta-tocopherol. The other portion was dehydrated in an oven at 40°C for 15 h, ground into a fine powder, and used for the determination of the centesimal composition and for the extraction and quantification of carotenoids provitamin A (alpha- and beta-carotene) and tocopherols (alpha- and delta-tocopherol). In the study of carotenes and tocopherols, the “in natura” and dehydrated algal material were submitted to extraction with methanol, saponification with potassium hydroxide, and partition with n-hexane. For the chromatographic analysis, a Waters Spherisorb S5 ODS-2 (4.6 x 250 mm) column was used, with MeOH: THF (95:5, v/v) as the mobile phase, delivered at 1.5 mL min-1. The monitor was adjusted to 450 and 292 nm for the simultaneous reading of carotenes and tocopherols. The species analyzed presented total protein, carbohydrate, and ash content which varied along the year. The lipid content was low throughout. In the U. fasciata e U. lactuca “in natura” and dehydrated samples, the presence of alpha- and beta-carotene was detected in varying quantities during the twelve month collection period. The lowest carotenoid contents were detected in October and November in U. fasciata and U. lactuca “in natura”, coinciding with the increased solar radiation. The isomers alpha- and delta-tocopherol were detected in varying amounts throughout the year in the U. fasciata and U. lactuca species “in natura” and dehydrated. No immediately evident relation was found between the alpha- and delta-tocopherol contents and coloration, plant age, or increased or decreased solar radiation.