IDENTIFICACIÓN Y CUANTIFICACIÓN DE ÁCIDOS GRASOS PRESENTES EN TRES MACROALGAS DE ISLA CARIBE, ESTADO SUCRE, VENEZUELA

Lipid extraction was carried out by the Overturf and Dryer method, for the characterization and quantification of fatty acids (FA) a gas chromatograph was used. The study showed the occurrence of nine saturated fatty acids:13:0, 14:0, 15:0,16:0, 18:0, 19:0, 20:0, 22:0 and 24:0, two monounsaturated fatty acids:16:1ω-7 and 18:1ω-7, and five polyunsaturated fatty acids:18:2ω-6, 18:4, 20:2, 20:5ω-3 and 22:6ω-3.

The algae C. clavulatun presented 13 fatty acids, and the other two algae presented 9 FA, resulting the FA 16:0, 18:2ω-6, 20:2, 20:5ω-3 and 22:6ω-3 common for the three species. In red algae, the most abundant fatty acid is eicosapentaenoic acid, but in this work docosahexaenoic acid stood out due to its high percentages for the algae studied, which is an important difference with rhodophyceans from other regions that could be attributed to environmental factors.