Mineral content, heavy metals and amino acid profiles of Halimeda opuntia seaweed from several waters in Indonesia

Halimeda opuntia is a type of calcareous seaweed which is including in the Chlorophyta division. In Indonesia, this type of seaweed is available abundantly, but the market value and the benefits are still very low. This research aims to study the characteristics of H. opuntia seaweed especially to assess the mineral content, heavy metals, and amino acid profiles from several waters in Indonesia. Sampling was carried out in four waters locations in Indonesia, namely the Binuangeun waters, Banten; South Lampung; East Lombok, NTB; and South Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi. Mineral analysis showed that H. opuntia contained K minerals (16.50 - 92.40 mg/100g), Ca (18.60 - 24.37 g/100g), Mg (35.20 - 510.50 mg/100g) ), Fe (30.34 - 470.00 mg/kg), Zn (2.13 - 5.43 mg/kg), Mn (3.60 - 23.45 mg/kg), and P (90.40 - 142.00 mg/kg). Heavy metals analysis showed that Lead (Pb) content in H. opuntia seaweed from four water locations was still low <0.04 mg/kg so that Cadmium (Cd) <0.05 mg/kg. Based on the analysis of amino acids, there were 12 amino acids detected, namely Alanine, Glycine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Proline, Aspartic Acid, Phenylalanine, Glutamine, Lysine, and Tyrosine. Based on mineral content, heavy metals and amino acid profiles, the direction of utilization of this type of seaweed is pharmaceutical ingredients, fertilizers, and feed.