Effect of long-term storage and harvest site on the fatty acid profiles, mineral and antioxidant properties of selected edible Scottish seaweeds

The limited understanding of the effect of pre-and post-harvest techniques still hinders the full exploitation of seaweed. Here, the effect of harvest site, long term storage and species on the elemental composition, fatty acid profile, lipid content, and antioxidant properties were determined in eight intertidal seaweed species common to Scotland, harvested for potential food application and stored for up to 128 weeks. Result showed that the most significant variation was due to species, with no statistical link found for the combined interaction effect of both storage duration and harvest site in most cases, except for the antioxidant parameters and some selected elements, which was limited to some seaweed species. Overall, our result showed that the chemical profiles of the seaweed species studied were remarkably consistent and unaffected by long term storage. Thus, suggesting that seaweeds sampled from Scotland could be a valuable resource for the development of functional foods.