ENERGY CONTENTS AND ORGANIC-CONSTITUENTS IN ANTARCTIC AND SOUTH CHILEAN MARINE BROWN-ALGAE

The content of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates and the calorific co ntents in six Antarctic and three south Chilean brown algae were deter mined. These constitute the first reports of chemical composition in t he endemic Antarctic species Cystosphaera jacquinotii, Phaeurus antarc ticus and Desmarestia antarctica. There were no marked differences in total energy levels between Antarctic and cold-temperate species (valu es between 10.6 and 13 kJ g(-1) dry weight). However, species such as Adenocystis utricularis showed significantly higher ash-free energy (2 6.3 kJ), which is explained in terms of morpho-functional differentiat ion. Ascoseira mirabilis and Phaeurus antarcticus showed high total li pids (2.1-2.2% dry weight) and soluble carbohydrates (5.9 and 3.4% dry weight). In general, algae from Chile had similar energy levels and n o obvious differences in organic content could be found.