Impact of cultivation of Mastocarpus stellatus in IMTA on the seaweeds chemistry and hybrid carrageenan properties

• Growth of Matocarpus stellatus during cultivation in IMTA is established.
• Significant growth of Mastocarpus stellatus affects the seaweed chemistry.
• More sulphated hybrid carrageenan are produced during cultivation.
• Alkali treated seaweeds lead to hybrid carrageenans with constant gel properties.

The biomass yield potential of Mastocarpus stellatus, a commercially attractive carrageenophyte for foods and pharmaceutics, was investigated by cultivating the seaweeds in the nutrient-rich outflow of a commercial fish farm. Results from two consecutive 4 weeks experiments indicate that the cultivation of this seaweed produces a mean biomass of 21 to 40.6 g DW m−2 day−1 depending on the time of the experiment. DRIFT and CP–MAS NMR analyses of seaweeds indicate that cultivation during May affected quantitatively the seaweeds chemistry, and thus the chemical and gelling properties of native extracts of kappa/iota-hybrid carrageenan (KI). Overall, algal growth leads to the production of more sulphated KI, the percentage increase varying between 27% and 44% for the two experiments. However, alkali treatment of seaweeds before extraction reduces the variations in gelling properties of KI induced by the algal growth. This study demonstrates the capacity of growing M. stellatus in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system for the sustainable production of high value polysaccharides.