Abstract
Akamoku, Sargassum horneri, is the brown algae widely distributed along the coast of the Sea of Japan, but it is only used as a food in limited local areas. This study examines the minerals, free amino acids and fatty acid composition of fresh akamoku fronds and packaged commercial boiled akamoku.
Although the major component minerals such as Na and K were significantly decreased by boiling, there were no considerable changes in the other minerals. The free amino acid contents, excepting glutamic acid and glutamine, were dramatically decreased by boiling. The fatty acid composition was not significantly changed by boiling in comparison with the minerals and free amino acids, although the lipid content of packaged commercial boiled products was less than that of fresh akamoku fronds.
The results show marked differences after boiling both fresh and commercial akamoku fronds, mainly in the contents of free amino acids, Na and K.
