Kumari, P., Discipline of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar 364002 Gujarat, India
Singh, R.P., Discipline of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar 364002 Gujarat, India
Bijo, A.J., Discipline of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar 364002 Gujarat, India
Reddy, C.R.K., Discipline of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar 364002 Gujarat, India
Jha, B., Discipline of Marine Biotechnology and Ecology, CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar 364002 Gujarat, India

The incipient levels of lipid hydroperoxides (LHPOs) were determined in selected green, brown, and red macroalgae by the FOX assay using hydroperoxy HPLC mix. The LHPOs contents varied between the investigated species and showed relatively low values in this study. Among the greens, it varied from 12 ± 6.2 μg · g-1 (Codium sursum) to 31.5 ± 2.8 μg · g-1 (Ulva lactuca), whereas in reds, from 5.7 ± 1.6 μg · g-1 (Gracilaria corticata) to 46.2 ± 6 μg · g-1 (Sarconema filiforme), and in browns, from 4.6 ± 4.4 μg · g-1 (Dictyota bartayresiana) to 79 ± 5.0 μg · g-1 (Sargassum tenerrimum), on fresh weight basis. These hydroperoxides represented a minor fraction of total lipids and ranged from 0.04% (S. swartzii) to 1.1% (S. tenerrimum) despite being a rich source of highly unsaturated fatty acids. The susceptibility of peroxidation was assessed by specific lipid peroxidazibility (SLP) values for macroalgal tissues. The LHPO values were found to be independent of both the PUFAs contents and their degree of unsaturation (DBI), as evident from the PCA analysis. SLP values were positively correlated with the LHPOs and negatively with DBI. The FOX assay gave ≥20-fold higher values for LHPOs as compared to the TBARS method for all the samples investigated in this study. Furthermore, U. lactuca cultured in artificial seawater (ASW) enriched with nutrients (N, P, and NP) showed a sharp decline in LHPOs contents relative to those cultured in ASW alone P ≤ 0.05. It is inferred from this study that the FOX assay is an efficient, rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive technique for detecting the incipient lipid peroxidation in macroalgal tissues. © 2012 Phycological Society of America.