The seasonal variation in polysaccharide content of brown alga akamoku Sargassum horneri collected off Oshima Island (Fukuoka prefecture) [Japan]
2007
Kimura, T.(Fukuoka-ken. Industrial Technology Center, Kurume (Japan)) | Ueda, K. | Kuroda, R. | Akao, T. | Shinohara, N. | Ushirokawa, T. | Fukagawa, A. | Akimoto, T.
Fucoidan, the sulfated polysaccharide extracted from brown marine algae, has various biological activities. In this paper, we investigated the seasonal variation of the polysaccharide content of akamoku sargassum horneri off Oshima Island (Fukuoka prefecture) (from January 2005 to May 2005). Although akamoku contained little fucoidan in the early stage of growth, there was a marked increase in the fucoidan of the alga in the later stage, and 6.60-8.31 g of fucoidan in 100 g of the dried alga was achieved. The maturity rates of akamoku rose from 20% in the early stage of growth to 95% in the later stage. This finding is in accordance with the maturity of the alga (akamoku), wherefore fucoidan is contained in gametangium in the alga body. On the other hand, no change in the alginate content occurred in any samples. The fucoidan extracted from akamoku contained 26.0-28.6% of sulfate and two major monosaccharides: fucose and xylose. Our results suggested that brown marine alga akamoku could be useful as a functional food.
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