Natural decoloration, composition and increase in dietary fibre content of an edible marine algae, Ulva rigida (Chlorophyta), grown under different nitrogen conditions

The colour, dietary fibre content and characteristics of the edible marine green algae, Ulva rigida, were investigated in relation with the nitrogen content of the algal culture medium. Colour brightness decreased and total nitrogen of the algae increased in nitrogen-enriched conditions. When nitrogen-enriched seaweeds were grown again in normal seawater for 10 days, colour brightness increased and total nitrogen concentration fell. Total dietary fibre content of the wild and nitrogen enriched algae were close (approximately 38.0% DW) but increased markedly when the nitrogen-rich plants were cultured in normal seawater (54.4% after 10 days). Soluble fibre were xylorhamnoglucuronan sulphate (ulvan) with close molar compositions for all the seaweed samples. Insoluble polysaccharides were composed of glucose, xylose, uronic acid, rhamnose and sulphate which molar proportions varied for the different algal samples. The soluble fibre intrinsic viscosity and the water holding capacity of insoluble fibre were not markedly affected by the growth conditions. This report demonstrates that edible seaweed aquaculture provides an alternative or a complement to post-harvest transformations of seaweeds to modify organoleptic and nutritional characteristics.