Potential of macroalgae as a new sustainable food source – ALGOMENU

An exhaustive characterization of the native and processed seaweeds will be conducted by evaluating critical parameters including: i) nutritional profile: nitrogen and amino acid content; ii) bioactive compounds such as polyphenol concentrations and sulphated polysaccharide profile as well as microorganisms; iii) metallome profile to evaluate the presence of potential metallic contaminants. Complete analytical nutrient composition will be carried also out by external service provider.

The results of this part of the project will be used to select the best preparations on the basis of their nutritional and nutraceutical properties for subsequent analyses.

The results of the project will help to determine whether whole marine macroalgae are good candidate for food transition with nutritional and/or nutraceutical benefits.

In the context of improving food sustainability, while ensuring food safety and security, the search for innovative foods is crucial for the future. The French macroalgae sector is of interest because of the nutritional potential of this naturally available marine resource. Whole macroalgae are indeed little exploited as food source while they are nutritionally dense and contains relatively high levels of bioactive compounds with demonstrated potential health benefits. The multidisciplinary collaborative project ALGOMENU “Potential of macroalgae as a new sustainable food source” aims to assess the potential of whole macroalgae on the French market as a new safe food source contributing to a healthy diet through gut ecosystem modulation. We propose to 1) select macroalgae species of potential interest by biochemical composition characterisation of nutritional and bioactive profiles and test eco-friendly processes to reduce contaminants and increase bioactive compound biodisponibility ; 2) assess in vivo tolerance and impact of the selected macroalgae consumption on diet-nutrient handling as well as impact on digestive ecosystem and systemic metabolic repercussions (in particular metabolism of metals) in animals fed balanced diet vs high calorie diet, representative of the Western population; and 3) assess consumer’s acceptability of edible macroalgae and formulated products containing macroalgae into diet by sociologic, food testing and perception approaches. The results of the project will help to determine whether whole marine macroalgae are good candidate for food transition with nutritional and/or nutraceutical benefits.