STEROL PROFILES IN 18 MACROALGAE OF THE PORTUGUESE COAST

The sterol profiles of dominant macroalgae occurring in the western Portuguese coast were evaluated. An analytical procedure, involving alkaline hydrolysis and extraction followed by separation by reversedphase HPLC-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD), was optimized for the study of their sterols composition. The validated methodology is short in analysis time (as the compounds are determined in <20 min), sensitive, reproducible, and accurate. It was then successfully applied to the determination of campesterol, cholesterol, desmosterol, ergosterol, fucosterol, stigmasterol, and beta-sitosterol in 18 species (three Chlorophyta, five Rhodophyta, and 10 Phaeophyta). The profiles obtained for the several macroalgal species were considerably different. C29 sterols were predominant in Phaeophyta and Chlorophyta (71%-95% of total sterol content), while in Rhodophyta cholesterol content is significantly higher (34%-87%). Among the studied species, Asparagopsis armata Harv. contained the lowest sterol amount (555 mg . kg(-1) dry weight), and Cystoseira tamariscifolia (Huds.) Papenf. the highest one (6,502 mg . kg(-1) dry weight). Data obtained may be helpful in identifying suitable marine sources of sterols, with potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.