1975 年 41 巻 3 号 p. 365-370
Contents of photosynthetic pigments, total nitrogen, free amino acids and free sugars in commercially available dried lavers (ranked “high quality”) were examined with special reference to variations due to harvesting time. The materials were products obtained from seven culture grounds: Saga, Fukuoka, Hyogo (Harima), Hyogo (Akashi and Awaji), Mie (Kuwana), Mie (Ch ?? nanse) and Aichi, during the period from November, 1972 to April, 1973. Four hundred specimens were subjected to analyses of pigment, and from these, 200 samples were randomly selected for total nitragen, free amino acids and free sugars. The results obtained are summarized as follows.
1. Contents of chlorophyll a, carotenoids and phycoerythrin gradually decreased with harvesting time. The tendency was general in products from all culture grounds tested.
2. Two modes of variation in phychcyanin content were found. One occurred in products from Saga, Fukuoka, Hyogo (Harima) and Mie (Ch ?? nanse); the varia-tions in phycocyanin content followed the same pattern as those of chlorophyll a, carotenoids and phycoerythrin (Saga type). The other was shown by the products from Hyogo (Akashi and Awaji), Mie (Kuwana) and Aichi. In these, phycocyanin content did not significantly vary or increased slightly with time (Hyogo type). A variation paralleling that in phycocyanin content occurred in contents of total nitro-gen and free amino acids. The results clearly indicate that phycocyanin content is the principal determining factor in the characteristic color of dried laver.