Comparison of Iron in Ulva spp. from the Different Locations

Abstract

　Green lavers are green algae of the family Ulvaceae and the genus Enteromorpha. Among them, Ulva linza mixed with U. prolifera is utilized as foods. Green lavers have the highest iron content among algae, i.e., 77.0mg/100g of dry weight. On the other hand, the iron content of U. prolifera from Muroto is remarkably low. Here we studied the iron contents of U. prolifera and U. linza from different locations. The iron content of U. prolifera from the Shimanto River was lower than that of U. linza from the Ehime Prefecture and U. prolifera from the Yoshino River, i.e., 23.3 ± 1.2mg/100g, 114.3 ± 0.5mg /100g, and 113.4 ± 16.0mg/100g of dry weight, respectively. The iron content of U. prolifera from the Yoshino River was affected by commercial lots.