IDENTIFICACIÓN Y CUANTIFICACIÓN DE ÁCIDOS GRASOS PRESENTES EN TRES MACROALGAS DE ISLA CARIBE, ESTADO SUCRE, VENEZUELA

In the present work, the fatty acids present in three Rhodophyta macroalgae collected
in March 2001 on the Caribbean island (Sucre state, Venezuela): Centroceras clavulatum, Hypnea
valentiae and Gymnogongrus tenuis, were studied. Lipid extraction was carried out by the Overturf and
Dryer method, for the characterization and quantification of fatty acids (FA) a gas chromatograph was
used. The study showed the occurrence of nine saturated fatty acids:13:0, 14:0, 15:0,16:0, 18:0, 19:0,
20:0, 22:0 and 24:0, two monounsaturated fatty acids:16:1ω-7 and 18:1ω-7, and five polyunsaturated fatty
acids:18:2ω-6, 18:4, 20:2, 20:5ω-3 and 22:6ω-3. The algae C. clavulatun presented 13 fatty acids, and
the other two algae presented 9 FA, resulting the FA 16:0, 18:2ω-6, 20:2, 20:5ω-3 and 22:6ω-3 common
for the three species. In red algae, the most abundant fatty acid is eicosapentaenoic acid, but in this work
docosahexaenoic acid stood out due to its high percentages for the algae studied, which is an important
difference with rhodophyceans from other regions that could be attributed to environmental factors. Only
marine algae can biosynthesize essential fatty acids, the presence of significant amounts of polyunsaturated
fatty acids 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 in the species analyzed gives it value in humans and animals diets