Effect of season on the composition of bioactive polysaccharides from the brown seaweed Saccharina longicruris

Laminarans and galactofucans were extracted from brown seaweed Saccharina longicruris from four harvest periods. A higher content of d-glucose was found in May and August 2005 in laminaran, where the amount of d-mannitol remains constant throughout the year. A higher d-galactose content, compared to that of l-fucose, was isolated from galactofucans harvested in August 2005, November 2005, and June 2006.