Diane Purcell1,2, Michael A. Packer1, Thomas T. Wheeler1, Maria Hayes2
1Cawthron Institute, 98 Halifax Street, Nelson 7010, New Zealand, 2Food BioSciences Department, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland
Correspondence: Diane Purcell, Diane.PurcellMeyerink@Teagasc.ie
The application of seaweed-derived bioproducts in pharmaceuticals, foods, dietary supplements and functional foods has accelerated in recent years. Sustainability of seaweed supply is crucial to ensure growth of this industry and the blue Bioeconomy. Presently, 94% of the annual seaweed biomass used globally is cultivated from 10 seaweeds but Macrocystis pyrifera (Giant Kelp) is not one of these. Seaweed based dietary supplements are in more demand than ever, especially those that include essential, (omega-3 (ω-3) and omega-6 (ω-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), as they are associated with prevention of inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. Macrocystis pyrifera cultivars from Tasmania (UTAS, supplied 2020) were cultivated at laboratorty/hatchery scale at temperatures ranging from 12-18°C. Results found that sporophytes grew best at 12°C in 12/12 light/dark (L/D) conditions as opposed to 16/8 L/D. Photo irradiance was 30 μmol m−2 s −1, using F/2 media, with moderate tank aeration. The optimal cultivation time was 45-58 days to produce sporophytes of 4-5 mm in length. Nutritional composition noted that 12°C (12/12) had 12 ± 0.75 % W/W total polysaccharides and 0.4 ± 0.07 % DW sulphated polysaccharides, these results were significantly higher than the other treatments, 15°C (12/12), 12°C (16/8), and 18°C (12/12).The highest protein content was 22.48 ± 1.80 % DW, for 12°C (16/18) treatment. The composition of total fatty acids (TFA), included 47 % essential fatty acids (EFA) for 12°C (12/12), 39% for 12°C (16/8), and 45% for 15°C (12/12). These results indicate that optimal hatchery-scale cultivation conditions may influence specific bio-product development.