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

褐藻如Alaria esculenta（翅藻）和Saccharina latissima（糖藻）分布在北大西洋两岸。它们是蛋白质（3-11%）、脂质（2-6%）、多糖（40-60%）、矿物质（18-35%）和其他生物活性化合物的极好来源，包括多酚和色素（如岩藻黄质）。然而，这些信息主要是关于欧洲大西洋沿岸（主要是挪威）的海藻种类，因此，加拿大大西洋沿岸（包括纽芬兰）的海藻营养成分引起了极大的兴趣。在加拿大大西洋地区，海草传统上被用作肥料和动物饲料；然而，近年来，人们对将海带资源商业化用于功能性食品、化妆品、药品和营养保健品的兴趣日益浓厚。海藻含有较高的碘和水分，因此在其高端利用之前，开发预处理方法至关重要，例如高效干燥技术，以方便运输和保持营养价值和生物活性。此外，对几种海藻进行预处理不仅可以恢复其营养成分，还可以降低其碘含量。因此，拟议的项目将对不同大西洋海藻物种的营养成分进行科学评估和初步调查。具体而言，将评估预处理(如高压处理（HPP）和干燥技术（热空气和冷冻干燥）对营养成分（氨基酸、多不饱和脂肪酸、多糖、灰分、岩藻黄素和酚类物质）的影响。海藻作为增值产品的潜力将根据生物活性化合物保存的最佳方法和扩大规模的建议来确定。

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.