Nutritional value of the red seaweed, Gracilaria fisheri

Abstract

The edible red seaweed Gracilaria fisheri is originally from Southern Thailand and relatively popular in the border states of Kelantan and Terengganu in Malaysia. The locals prefer consuming this weed as "kerabu sarer". However, there are no scientific reports on the nutritional value of G. fisheri and thus this study was carried out. The objectives were to determine the proximate composition (protein, lipid, fiber, ash, moisture and carbohydrate), fatty acids (FAs) composition, amino acid composition and mineral elements content of G. fisheri. The samples were obtained from selected markets in Pasir Puteh, Kota Bharu and Jelawat in Kelantan. The experiments were carried out in triplicates for all the nutrient parameters.