OFI SF7 Exploration and Preservation of the Nutritional Value and Bioactive Compounds of Atlantic Seaweed Species

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Brown algae such as Alaria esculenta (wing kelp) and Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp) are distributed onboth sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. They are an excellent source of proteins (3-11%), lipids (2-6%), polysaccharides (40-60%), and minerals (18-35%) and other bioactive compounds, including polyphenols and pigments (e.g., fucoxanthin). However, this information is mostly available on the seaweed species along the Atlantic coast of Europe, mainly Norway, and thus, the nutritional composition of seaweeds on the Atlantic coast of Canada, including Newfoundland, is of great interest. In Atlantic Canada, seaweeds were traditionally harvested for fertilizer and animal feed; however, recently, there has been mounting interest in commercializing kelp resources into functional food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical products. Seaweeds contain higher iodine and moisture, so it is critical to develop pre-treatment methods prior to their high-end utilization, such as efficient drying techniques for facilitating transportation and preserving nutritional value and bioactivities. In addition, the application of pre-treatments on several seaweed species not only recovered the nutritional contents but also reduced the iodine content. Therefore, the proposed project is set to conduct a scientific assessment and preliminary investigation of the nutritional composition of different Atlantic seaweed species. Specifically, the effect of pre-treatments such as high-pressure processing (HPP) and drying techniques (hot air and freeze-drying) on the nutritional composition (amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides, ash, fucoxanthin, and phenolics) will be assessed. The potential of seaweeds for value-added products will be identified based on the best method for bioactive compound preservation and scale-up recommendations.