Background: The biomedical and nutraceutical effects of sea lettuce, scientifically known as Ulva lactu-ca, are well known in scientific literature. Considering the nutraceutical effects of this marine organism and the abundance of this algae on Bushehr coasts, one of the objectives of this study was to investigate some phytochemical, nutraceutical, and antioxidant properties and the chemical components of sea let-tuce obtained from the Persian Gulf coasts (Bushehr, Iran).
Materials and Methods: After sample collection and preparation, some phytochemical properties, includ-ing the fatty acid profile, amino acid profile, secondary metabolites, and antioxidant activity were respec-tively determined using standard AOAC methods to Cd 86-90 and Cd 3-25, gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and free radical scavenging (DPPH) methods.
Results: The analysis of fatty acids revealed 17 types of fatty acids consisting of significant amounts of Omega 3, 6, and 9, while the amino acid analysis revealed 19 types of amino acids containing significant amounts of essential amino acids (37%). Additionally, the GC-MS results identified 31 secondary metab-olites with different functional groups and nuclei. Sea lettuce showed higher antioxidant activity than the ascorbic acid standard at different concentrations.
Conclusion: According to the results, Persian Gulf Sea lettuce contains nutritional compounds and useful primary and secondary metabolites with nutraceutical and biomedical effects for use as a food supple-ment. This marine organism is also a rich source of many bioactive compounds such as phenolics, alka-loids, amino acids, and saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.