The stability of pigments in the thalli and extracts of the Barents Sea fucus algae

Fucus algae of the Barents Sea are a promising source of biologically active substances (BAS), including carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments. The main direction of processing these types of brown algae is aimed at obtaining polysaccharides, and therefore pigments can be lost during the purification stages of the target components. Freezing as a type of preservation of algae is becoming more common, while the biochemical processes during storage of this type of raw material remain poorly understood. The study shows the effect of long-term storage (6 months) in the freezer of frozen thalli of such types of brown algae as Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus distichus and Ascophyllum nodosum on the content of fucoxanthin and chlorophyll a in them. Analysis of the pigment content has been performed by HPLC, spectroscopy – in the visible and UV spectral area. In the course of the work it has been revealed that during the storage of algal thalli pigment degradation do not occur, in addition in some cases their content in the extract has increased 1.5–2 times. On the example of ethanol extract from frozen Ascophyllum thalli the stability of pigments during storage in the refrigerating chamber during the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th and 30th days of storage has been studied.It has been established that the content of fucoxanthin and chlorophyll a practically do not change during the studied period. It has been also shown that the concentration of the Ascophyllum extract under vacuum at a temperature of 50 °C does not affect the quantitative content of fucoxanthin, however, the amount of chlorophyll a decreases 40 times. The results of the work can contribute to the development of new ways of processing promising types of algae in the Barents Sea with obtaining therapeutic and preventive food products.