Gabriela Azevedo

Impact of cultivation of Mastocarpus stellatus in IMTA on the seaweeds chemistry and hybrid carrageenan properties

The biomass yield potential of Mastocarpus stellatus, a commercially attractive carrageenophyte for foods and pharmaceutics, was investigated by cultivating the seaweeds in the nutrient-rich outflow of a commercial fish farm. Results from two consecutive 4 weeks experiments indicate that the cultivation of this seaweed produces a mean biomass of 21 to 40.6 gDW m(-2) day(-1) depending on the time of the experiment. DRIFT and CP-MAS NMR analyses of seaweeds indicate that cultivation during May affected quantitatively the seaweeds chemistry, and thus the chemical and gelling properties of native extracts of kappa/iota-hybrid carrageenan (KI). Overall, algal growth leads to the production of more sulphated KI, the percentage increase varying between 27% and 44% for the two experiments. However, alkali treatment of seaweeds before extraction reduces the variations in gelling properties of KI induced by the algal growth. This study demonstrates the capacity of growing M. stellatus in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system for the sustainable production of high value polysaccharides.

Phase diagrams of hybrid carrageenans extracted from Ahnfeltiopsis devoniensis and Chondrus crispus.

NaCl and KCl phase diagrams of two kappa/iota-hybrid carrageenans (KI) are established, and the rheological properties of obtained solutions and gels are reported. KI were extracted from Ahnfeltiopsis devoniensis and Chondrus crispus seaweeds and showed different chemical composition, 48 mol% of kappa carrageenan (K) and 52 mol% of iota carrageenan (I), and 78 mol% of K and 22 mol% of I, respectively. Phase diagrams are systematically compared those of blends of commercial K and I (K+I) showing equivalent chemical compositions. Results confirm that KI clearly differ from mixtures of K and I. K+I form gels at lower polysaccharide concentration and ionic strength, and exhibit gel separation from a liquid phase when large amount (>0.1 mol/L) of KCl is used. In contrast, no syneresis was found in KI gels formed under similar conditions. Both KI and K+I gels are strain hardening, and show a concentration scaling of the elasticity with exponents ranging from 1.1 to 3.2 depending on the type of salt and ionic strength. The strain at break of KI gels does not show salt specificity and is similar to the strain at break of K+I gels in KCl under similar salt and polysaccharide concentrations. K+I gels in NaCl are more fragile than in KCl, thus showing salt specificity.