Chemical composition of farmed and micropropagated Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales), a commercially important seaweed in Malaysia

Micropropagation technologies play an important role in enhancing the nutritional composition of seaweeds. Kappaphycus alvarezii explants, obtained from two types of seedling production system viz. micropropagation and farm propagation, were analyzed. Results obtained from the post-farm cultivation seaweeds showed significantly higher total lipids in micropropagated compared to farm-propagated K. alvarezii. In the mineral and trace element analyses, micropropagated K. alvarezii yielded significantly higher calcium, magnesium, beryllium, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, and zinc compared to farm-propagated K. alvarezii. A lower concentration of metal contaminants was detected in micropropagated K. alvarezii compared to farm-propagated K. alvarezii. Both sources of K. alvarezii showed high SFA compared to MUFA and PUFA, where C16:0 and C18:0 were found to be in abundance. The study suggests micropropagated K. alvarezii is a better food source for consumption compared to farm-propagated K. alvarezii and justifies the rationale of using micropropagation technique for seedling production in the seaweed industry.