Identification of Seaweed Minerals

Minerals are essential to the human diet because the body cannot synthesize them. Over 95% of mineral intake comes from food. With some exceptions, macroalgae contain more minerals than terrestrial plants because of their excellent bio-absorption and bio-accumulation capacity. Here, Lifeasible offers professional solutions for the identification of seaweed minerals.

Seaweed Minerals

Essential minerals are found in seaweeds, such as the most abundant minerals Na, K, Ca, Mg and P (also known as macrominerals), and trace elements such as Zn, Se, Fe, Cu, Mn, and I. Although minerals are essential to the life cycle of macroalgae, they are not biosynthesized by them, but absorbed from the environment. The distribution and storage of minerals in seaweeds can be influenced by various factors, such as different environmental conditions (geographical location, wave exposure, seasonal effects) and the condition of the seaweed, such as age. In addition, the chemical form and background content of minerals in seawater can also affect the sorption of minerals by seaweeds. Due to their strong biosorption and bioaccumulation capacity, these organisms may contain 10 to 100 times more minerals than terrestrial vegetables. On the other hand, seaweeds may also accumulate toxic metals (e.g., As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) to varying degrees and may be up to 200-500 times higher than terrestrial plants.

Fig 1. The total content of minerals (a) and heavy metals (b) in G. griffithsiae and A. taxiformis seaweeds. (Selmi A, et al., 2021)

Customized Solutions

The accumulation of essential minerals and trace elements by seaweeds from different sources varies considerably depending on their morphological characteristics, environmental conditions, and geographical location. Our scientists develop various analytical methods and techniques to quantify the mineral concentrations in seaweed samples. We aim to continuously optimize and validate these methods to analyse the macrominerals and trace elements in seaweeds accurately.

Lifeasible provides a comprehensive service for identifying seaweed minerals to clients worldwide.

Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (GF-AAS)

We offer the GF-AAS technique for determining As, Cd, and Pb in seaweed. This technique is sensitive enough to detect the presence of trace elements. When analyzing a large number of elements and samples, this method is more time-consuming and complex.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES)

We offer ICP-OES techniques for analyzing macro elements such as Fe, Zn, Mg, Mn, and Ca in seaweed. This is a multi-element technique but is not sensitive enough for the detection of ultra-trace elements.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

We offer ICP-MS technology for the detection of metals in seaweed and algal food, including As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Co, Cr, Mo, Ni, Se, V. This is a very sensitive and accurate analytical technique for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of trace and ultra-trace elements in seaweed, with detection limits in the ng·g^-1 order of magnitude.

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy

We offer FTIR techniques to predict the major functional groups associated with the absorption of seaweed minerals.

Advantages of Our Solutions

• These methods allow accurate and precise analysis of minerals in seaweeds.
• Applied to seaweed intended for human consumption, it can help to identify the levels of a wide range of toxic and bioactive elements in seaweed.
• Assures the quality of seaweed intended for human consumption and responds to consumer demands for tighter control.
• Optimal conditions for sample digestion are determined by varying the volume and rate of HNO₃ and H₂O₂, digestion time, and microwave power levels.

Lifeasible provides a comprehensive service for identifying seaweed minerals through optimized ICP-OES methods for mineral and traces element analysis. We are your trusted partner in all aspects of seaweed research. If you are interested in our solutions, please do not hesitate to contact us.