Fatty Acid Composition of Macroalgae from Nao Zhou Island

It is widely accepted that the consumption of ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids has beneficial effects on human health. For this paper, the content and composition of fatty acids in fourteen macroalgal species from Nao Zhou Island were analyzed. The modified Bligh and Dyer method was used to extract fat-soluble components from seaweeds. After extraction, impurity removal, methylation, and separation, the total fatty acids and components of each species were separated and identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and quantified. The results showed that the contents of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid contents in Phaeophyta were relatively high, but their distribution was uneven. Compared with other algae, Phaeophyta contained more polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are beneficial to human health. Moreover, Agarophyton tenuistipitatum in Rhodophyta and Valonia aegagropila in Chlorophyta also had relatively high contents of unsaturated fatty acids, higher than that of Phaeophyta. Hence, algae with high contents of unsaturated fatty acids in Phaeophyta, Agarophyton tenuistipitatum in Rhodophyta, and Valonia aegagropila in Chlorophyta have the potential to be used for medical purposes and as a base for health products and other biological agents.