Infusion of Macroalgae: A Promise Methodology for Obtaining a Healthy Food Ingredient

Nowadays, the consumer demands for foods more natural, with reduced or without synthetic additives in their formulation and with health benefits, improving their life quality. In response, the Food Industry has been investigating a wide range of natural ingredients/compounds that bring not only a nutritional but also a food improvement. Some of these benefits compounds have been studied in a natural matrix, the macroalgae. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of infusion in one brown and green macroalgae, Fucus vesiculosus and Ulva sp., respectively. In both macroalgae, the ratio of solid:liquid (w:v) applied were 1:16 and 1:50 and two time of infusion (5 and 15 min), was also studied. After the infusion total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity expressed by the scavenging of the free radical DPPH and the reducing power capacity of Fe (III), were also determined. By the obtained results in both macroalgae infusion extracts, the solid–liquid ratio of 1:16 (w:v) for 15 min, contributed to extract a higher content of TPC (36.52 mg GAE/100 g and 157.64 mg GAE/100 g in Ulva sp. and Fucus, respectively). Also, Fucus, showed a superior value of DPPH and FRAP, 62.8 2% and 41.77 mM FeSO4/g respectively. This indicated that using a simple treatment as infusion, an interesting and potential extraction of benefits compounds, as antioxidants and the phenolic it achieves. Thus, allied to the nutritional composition, the macroalgae is an alternative of using the “bioactive rich infusion” as a potential food and/or ingredient to be included in Mediterranean Food.