Authors: Nicholas A Paul Nicolas Neveux Marie Magnusson Rocky de Nys
Publish Date: 2013/12/21
Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 1833-1844
Abstract
“Sea grapes” is a collective term for the edible varieties of the green seaweed genus Caulerpa Here we conduct comparative analyses of the biomass productivities and biochemical properties of C lentillifera and C racemosa from tropical Australia Commercialscale production was evaluated using 1 m2 culture units with high stocking densities 5 kg m−2 Productivity of C lentillifera in a 6week period yielded on average 2 kg week−1 whereas C racemosa yielded 05 kg week−1 Morphometric comparisons of the harvestable biomass revealed that C lentillifera had a higher proportion of fronds edible portions to horizontal runners stolons and a higher density of fronds per unit area C racemosa fronds however were significantly longer The nutritional value of C racemosa was higher than C lentillifera for both polyunsaturated fatty acids 106 vs 53 mg g−1 DW and pigments 94 vs 42 mg g−1 DW The content of eicosapentaenoic acid EPA and βcarotene decreased with increasing frond size in both species Trace element contents also varied substantially between the species including higher levels of zinc magnesium and strontium in C lentillifera and higher levels of selenium in C racemosa Some less desirable elements were higher in C lentillifera including arsenic 1 vs 01 ppm and cadmium whereas others were higher in C racemosa including lead copper and vanadium Overall C lentillifera has a high biomass production potential in monoculture and distinct nutritional properties that warrant a focus on its commercialisation as a new aquaculture product in tropical Australia and in Southeast Asia more broadlyThis research was funded by the Australian Flora Foundation The authors thank I Tuart JCU for assistance in production experiments and Y Hu Advanced Analytical Centre JCU for conducting the elemental analyses and two anonymous reviewers for their input
Keywords: