The lipid class, fatty acid and sterol profiles of the bull kelp, Durvillaea potatorum were determined. Samples analysed included commercially dried kelp, fresh kelp collected using SCUBA and beach cast kelp. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) ranged between 57% of the total fatty acids in the fresh sample to 22% in the beach sample. The major PUFAs were 18:3ω 3, 20:4ω6 and 20: 5ω3. PUFAs decreased while total saturated fatty acids (14:0,16:0,18: 0) increased from 12 to 44% with increasing drying time. Total lipid of fresh kelp was 13 mg g 1̄ dry weight, with polar lipid, sterol, triacylglycerol and hydrocarbon comprising 86, 9, 4 and 1 % respectively. Fucosterol was the major sterol found in this species. 24-Ethylcholesta-5,28(29)-dien-3β, 24-diol and four other unidentified sterols were also detected. Concentrations of both 24-ethylcholesta-5,28(29)-dien-3β,24-diol and the unidentified sterols increased with drying time. These sterols may prove useful biomarkers for D. potatorum in regional biogeochemical or foodweb studies.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Durvillaea potatorum; brown algae; kelp; lipids; polyunsaturated fatty acids; sterols; saringosterol.
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Ecology
Research Field:	Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
Objective Field:	Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
Author:	Virtue, P (Associate Professor Patti Virtue)
ID Code:	90442
Year Published:	1994
Web of Science® Times Cited:	11
Deposited By:	IMAS Research and Education Centre
Deposited On:	2014-04-03
Last Modified:	2014-06-10
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