title: Eicosapentaenoic acid release from the red alga Pachymeniopsis lanceolata by enzymatic degradation.
abstract: Forty-eight species of seaweeds from Japanese waters were screened for the valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The eight species that contained the highest levels of these compounds were analyzed in detail. Of all species tested the red alga Pachymeniopsis lanceolata contained the highest EPA concentration, and it was present as both the free and bound forms. EPA constituted 38.7% of total fatty acids, and polar lipids were the main constituent of the total lipids in P. lanceolata. EPA was obtained from the marine algae P. lanceolata by enzymatic hydrolysis of the total lipids extract using phospholipase A2 (PLA2). The release of EPA reached a plateau after 10 min of enzymatic treatment. These results suggest that P. lanceolata is a useful natural source of EPA and that PLA2 treatment is a convenient method for obtaining EPA from the red alga.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matsukawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatakeda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamachi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hasebe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Notoya
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dubinsky
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karube
mesh_terms: D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D010741:Phospholipases A / Q000378:metabolism*; D054467:Phospholipases A2; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000378:metabolism*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; D010741:Phospholipases A; D054467:Phospholipases A2