Some typical analyses of red seaweeds

Abstract

These findings are in keeping with those of Schmidte and HerzheimlO who failed to confirm any effect on undernourished children, but are contrary to those communicated privately by the Pharmazell Co. where rats that failed to grow and eventually lost weight and died on a purified diet grew moderately when vitamin T was added. The quantity of vitamin T used in the Pharmazell experiment was 0.6 ml. per day (corresponding to 840 ml. per 70-kg. adult), compared with 0.25 ml. in the second experiment.

Biology of Furcellaria lumbricalis (Hudson) Lamouroux (Rhodophyta: Gigartinales), a commercial carrageenophyte

“…A total sulphate content of 10.8 % of dry weight (Ross, 1953) is intermediate among the values of 0.5-19.1% reported for the Rhodophyta. Much of the sulphate is apparently associated with cellwall polysaccharides (q.v.…”

“…Another structural polymer, cellulose, has been reported to constitute 5.7% of the dry weight in F. lumbricalis (Ross, 1953). This figure is high among the carrageenophytes but not as high as that obtained for agarophytes and some other red algae (Ross, 1953;Kreger, 1962).…”

“…Aspects of dry weight and gross chemical composition (ash, organic content) have been reported by a number of authors (Ross, 1953;Vinogradov, 1953;Voronova, 1970;Ravanko, 1972;Greenwell etal., 1984;Indergaard & Knutsen, 1990), and values for Furcellaria lumbricalis are generally comparable with those for other fleshy red algae. Dry matter is 15-23 % of fresh weight (Vinogradov, 1953;Ravanko, 1972;Greenwell et al, 1984).…”

“…Much of the sulphate is apparently associated with cellwall polysaccharides (q.v. ), as Ross (1953) noted a general correlation between sulphate and galactose, and reported higher values only for representatives of the Gigartinaceae and Petrocelidaceae, which possess more highly sulphated carrageenans.…”

“…Nitrogen content ranges from 1.1-4.8 % of dry weight (Ross, 1953;Citharel & Villeret, 1964;Krasil'nikova et al, 1972;Kornfeldt, 1982;Greenwell et al, 1984;Indergaard & Knutsen, 1990), making F. lumbricalis relatively nitrogenrich among the Rhodophyta. Seasonal variation occurs, apparently in response to available reactive inorganic nitrogen, with maxima in winter and minima in summer (Citharel & Villeret, 1964;Kornfeldt, 1982;Indergaard & Knutsen, 1990); nitrogen evidently was not limiting for an inner Baltic population that maintained a high nitrogen content (3.7-3.9%) during the summer (Krasil'nikova et al, 1972).…”