Dados do Trabalho

Título

CHARACTERIZATION OF CUSHURO (Nostoc sphaericum), AN ANDEAN ALGA

Introdução

Cushuro (Nostoc sphaericum) is an alga native to the high Andean areas of Peru, however, there is little evidence of its nutritional properties. The objective of this study was to characterize the Cushuro in terms of contents of protein, fat, carbohydrate, moisture, ash, fiber, mineral, and amino acid profile.

Material e Métodos

Cushuro was obtained from Caylloma Province in Arequipa, Peru. Protein, fat, ash, moisture, and fiber were determined by Kjeldahl, Soxhlet, dry, gravimetric, and AOAC methods, respectively. The inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy method evaluated the mineral content. The amino acids profile was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with an inverted phase column.

Resultados e Discussão

The Andean alga on a dry basis presented 48.7% ± 0.6% of carbohydrates, 29.3 % ± 0.7% of proteins, 0.2% ± 0.01% of lipids, 3.5% ± 0.06% of ash, 16.0% ± 0.08% of moisture, and 2.3% ± 0.06% of crude fiber. Regarding the mineral content, calcium had the highest content 1052 mg ± 0.02 mg, followed by magnesium 288 mg ± 0.001 mg, sodium 138 mg ± 0.12 mg, sulfur 96 mg ± 0.13 mg, and potassium 79 mg ± 0.002 mg in 100 g of dry basis. The amino acid profile revealed that the major amino acids were arginine, aspartic acid, valine, glutamic acid, and alanine.

Conclusão

In conclusion, the Cushuro presents high carbohydrates, proteins, calcium, magnesium, and sodium levels. Also, it has valine, an essential amino acid. This Andean alga is a nutritional food that could add value to other products and would have potential for future research.