Species composition and biochemical characteristics of macrophyte algae natural mixtures of the White Sea used to obtain food hydrocolloids

The study of the chemical and technological properties of algae is of great importance in their processing. These properties determine the quality of food hydrocolloids produced from them (agar, carrageenan, alginate).The article presents the results obtained during the work in the summer-autumn period from 2019 to 2023 in the coastal areas of the Onega Bay of the White Sea (Popov and Bolshoy Solovetsky Islands). It was found that the commercial species Ahnfeltia plicata, which lives in the coastal zone of Popov Island, had the highest number of epiphytes from July to August. The dominant species was the red alga Vertebrata fucoides, which lives in the coastal zone of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island. An insignificant number of epiphytes were noted in fucoids growing in the coastal zone of Popov Island. The synusia of epiphytes is well developed in two species of fucus (Fucus distichus, Fucus vesiculosus) growing in the coastal zone of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island. The greatest number of epiphytes was recorded in July, but their share in the total biomass of algae is insignificant. Based on the study of the chemical composition and technological characteristics of mixtures of A. plicata and V. fucoides algae, the necessity of their separation during joint procurement is shown. For the species of red algae Ptilota serrata, P. gunneri and their mixture, as well as the mixture of P. serrata with another species of Rhodophyta – Fimbrifolium dichotomum and brown alga Chaetopteris plumosa, it is established that there is no need for sorting by species for further processing in the production of thickeners for the food industry. The chemical composition of red algae and their natural mixtures collected near Bolshoy Solovetsky Island is presented.