Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ISSN: 0001-3765 [email protected] Academia Brasileira de Ciências Brasil COSTA, CÉSAR S.B.; VICENTI, JULIANO R.M.; MORÓN-VILLARREYES, JOAQUÍN A.; CALDAS, SERGIANE; CARDOSO, LIZIANE V.; FREITAS, RICARDO F.; D’OCA, MARCELO G.M. Extraction and characterization of lipids from Sarcocornia ambigua meal: a halophyte biomass produced with shrimp farm effluent irrigation Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, vol. 86, núm. 2, junio, 2014, pp. 935-943 Academia Brasileira de Ciências Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=32731288035 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (2014) 86(2): 935-943 (Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences) Printed version ISSN 0001-3765 / Online version ISSN 1678-2690 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201420130022 www.scielo.br/aabc Extraction and characterization of lipids from Sarcocornia ambigua meal: a halophyte biomass produced with shrimp farm effluent irrigation CÉSAR S.B. COSTA1, JULIANO R.M. VICENTI2, JOAQUÍN A. MORÓN-VILLARREYES2, SERGIANE CALDAS2, LIZIANE V. CARDOSO2, RICARDO F. FREITAS1 and MARCELO G.M. D’OCA2 1Instituto de Oceanografia, Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Halófitas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande/FURG, Av. Itália, Km 08, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brasil 2Escola de Química e Alimentos, Laboratório Kolbe de Síntese Orgânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande/FURG, Av. Itália, Km 08, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brasil Manuscript received on January 18, 2013; accepted for publication on July 15, 2013 ABSTRACT Sarcocornia ambigua is a perennial glasswort, native of South America and a potential new seed-oil crop and forage for direct irrigation with salt water. Small seeds develop inside fertile segments of its cylindrical leafless shoots and, at the harvest, seeds are typically mixed with remnant cellulose material difficult to separate. This work evaluated different extraction methods and the composition of total esterified fatty acids in a meal of ground fertile shoots of S. ambigua, seeking for an alternative primary matter and larger yield of total lipids. The highest lipid yield was obtained with a chloroform:methanol mixture (2:1)(v/v) (5.2% of dry weight). The most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids in the meal were linoleic acid (C18:2; 21.4%) and oleic acid (C18:1; 18.3%). Fifty six percent of the lipids in S. ambigua meal were saturated and palmitic acid (C16:0) was the main fraction (19.8%). Long-chain fatty acids (≥ C20) represented 29.5% of the lipids. Most abundant long-chain fatty acids were behenic acid (C22:0; 7.1%), lignoceric acid (C24:0; 5.3%) and montanic acid (C28:0; 4.0%). The percentage of saturated lipids in S. ambigua meal was higher than that of vegetable oils with a MUFA nutritional profile and some of these lipids have known bioactive properties. Key words: Lipids, Long chain fatty acids, Palmitic acid, Polar solvent, ω6 acid. INTRODUCTION irrigation with salt water (Costa 2006, 2011, D'Oca Sarcocornia ambigua (Michx.) Alonso & Crespo et al. 2012). An experimental crop of S. ambigua (subfamily Salicornioideae, family Chenopo- in northeastern Brazil, irrigated with saline effluent diaceae) is the most widely distributed perennial from a shrimp farm, yielded an average of 8.9 fresh species in South America of a genus of small weight tons/hectare of aerial shoot biomass after succulent halophytic shrubs, common in coastal three months of cultivation (Costa 2006, 2011). marshes, mangroves and salt deserts (Isacch et Recently, a production of 23.4 fresh-weight tons/ al. 2006, Alonso and Crespo 2008), but it is also hectare was achieved under plentiful irrigation and a potential new seed-oil crop and forage for direct saline effluent of high nitrogen content in southern Brazil (state of Rio Grande do Sul; RS) (Costa et Correspondence to: César Serra Bonifácio Costa E-mail: [email protected] al. 2011). These yields are within the same order as An Acad Bras Cienc (2014) 86 (2) 936 CÉSAR S.B. COSTA et al. the results obtained with the closely related species phospholipids consist of two fatty acids bonded Salicornia bigelovii (Clark 1994, El-Mallah et al. to a glycerol, whereas triglyceride molecules 1994, Anwar et al. 2002, Zerai et al. 2010). Members have three fatty acids linked by ester bonds to of Salicornioideae share physiological aspects and a glycerol. Differently from triglycerides and the morphology of cylindrical leafless shoots, and other non-polar fatty acids common in seed oil, are commonly called glassworts. S. bigelovii is an glycolipids and phospholipids are essential polar annual glasswort commercially cultivated in the lipids with a polar head and a non-polar tail. United States, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Since the polarity of lipids affects the solubility in Arab Emirates, Egypt, Eritrea and Pakistan, not solvents, it is necessary to find the most efficient only for seed oil production (Glenn et al. 1998, extraction method to dissolve the non-polar and El-Mallah et al. 1994, Anwar et al. 2002, Zerai polar lipids present in plant tissue. et al. 2010), but also for forage, as a by-products There are a few studies about the quantity rich in protein and carbohydrates used for feeding and composition of lipids in glasswort shoots. chickens (Attia et al. 1997), fish (Belal and Al- Shimizu et al. (2001) found 4.9% of total lipids Dosari 1999) and sheep (Kraidees et al. 1998), and in Salicornia herbacea shoots, whereas Kulis et in addition to being used in the human diet as well al. (2010), depending on the extraction method, (Ventura et al. 2011). obtained between 3.2% and 7.1% of total lipids The ellipsoid seeds of S. ambigua are small from shoots of Salicornia europaea and Salicornia (0.10 ± 0.04 mg) and their hexane extract yielded virginica (sin. Sarcocornia perennis). Similar to 13% of total lipids (D'Oca et al. 2012). The seeds their seeds, fatty acid composition of shoots of develop inside fertile segments of the succulent Salicornia and Sarcocornia species is dominated green shoots, and are only available after the by polyunsaturated acids with 16 and 18 carbons, senescence of shoots. At the harvest, seeds are but a significant amount of saturated acids are typically mixed with debris such as soil and also present (Imai et al. 2004, Kulis et al. 2010, remnant cellulose material, which are difficult to Ventura et al. 2011), and most of the lipids found separate. It results in a clear reduction of seed oil in shoots are phospholipids (Ivanova et al. 2000, yield and in an increased effort with preprocessing 2009). EPAGRI (2008) reported the presence to remove debris. However, fatty acids in seed of β-sitosterol and stigmasterol in shoots of S. oil are not the only lipids in plant material. ambigua. Furthermore, the cake obtained after Lipids can also be found in wax esters (surface lipids extraction from S. ambigua shoots could be shoots and leaves), glycolipids (membranes of used for animal feed, due to their high percentages photosynthetic tissues), phospholipids (in cellular of protein (8%) and ashes (27-30%)(Augusto-Ruiz membranes) and triglycerides (stored mostly et al. 2000, Costa 2006, Medina et al. 2008), as in seeds and plant tissues) (Misra et al. 1987, well as the presence of several phenolic compounds Ivanova et al. 2000, Kulis et al. 2010), all feasible (Costa et al. 2006). for synthetic biofuel and supplementation of This work aimed at evaluating different animal feeding (Kulis et al. 2010). Thus, a larger extraction methods, and both qualitative and amount of total lipids per hectare of S. ambigua quantitative compositions of total esterified fatty crop might be obtained from the utilization of acids in a meal of ground fertile shoots of the fertile shoot segments (with seeds) as primary perennial glasswort S. ambigua cultivated with matter, rather than only by seed oil extraction. saline effluent from a Litopennaeus vannamei The molecular structures of glycolipids and shrimp tank in southern Brazil. An Acad Bras Cienc (2014) 86 (2) LIPIDS FROM Sarcocornia ambigua MEAL 937 MATERIALS AND METHODS collected and the solvent evaporated under reduced pressure. The lipid fraction was dried to constant PLANT MATERIAL weight in an oven at 60°C. Total lipids was also In April 2010, at the Marine Aquaculture Laboratory quantified according to the methodology of Bligh (EMA-FURG, RS, Brazil; 32° 12' 19'' S, 52° 10' 45'' and Dyer (1959) for samples of S. ambigua meal W), shoots of seven-month-old S. ambigua were washed (M6) and not washed with distilled water harvested at ground level from a 10-m by 20-m plot (M7) before the extractions. Each meal sample was irrigated with saline effluent from a Litopennaeus put in a 12-mL mixture of chloroform:methanol vannamei shrimp tank. Plants were grown spaced (2:1)(v/v), placed in a test tube, then stirred (700 40 cm apart and watered by filling up drainage rpm) at room temperature for 20 minutes. Later the ditches once a day with 2,000 litres of effluent. sample was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 5 minutes. During the growth period, about 740 mm of rainfall The organic phase was carefully collected and accumulated and average values (± standard error) the solvent evaporated under reduced pressure. of soil surface (0-5 cm deep), electrical conductivity The lipid fraction was dried to constant weight in and moisture content were 5.7 ± 2.9 dS/m and 7.8 ± an oven at 60°C.