Characterization of Biopolymeric Compounds Extracted from Macroalgae

In recent years, there is a massive growth in world population, both thanks to decrease in morbidity and to high birth rates. Therefore, there is also a growth in demand for food, which requires seeking ways to increase food production. With decreasing available land and fresh water resources, the oceans are an attractive alternative for basing agriculture intended for human consumption.

Algae contain a wide range of nutrients, many of which have significant importance in human nutrition and great economic potential for the food industry. The algae Ulva rigida is a good candidate for such agriculture since it`s known for its nutritional benefits and good content of proteins. The Ulva r. is mostly rich with carbohydrates (14-40% of the algae`s dry matter) and contains also significant amounts of proteins (7-24 % of the dry matter). Along with these two major fractions, the algae contains sub fractions such as minerals, fats and phytochemicals.

With a vision of `zero waste`, our plan is to fractionate the algae to its components, towards utilizing all them. It is also essential to develop work protocols that are applicable in food processing. For start, we are focusing on the extraction of algal proteins, which consist of significant amounts of essential amino acids.
Thus far, we have managed to obtain a protein-enriched powder (70% protein) using only food applicable procedures.

Currently, we are investigating and characterizing the functionalities of these new and renewable food proteins for food applications, to facilitate their application in the development of novel food products.