Carotenoid composition and antioxidant potential of , and .

Three species of Malaysian edible seaweed () were analyzed for their carotenoid composition using a combination of high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS), while the antioxidant capacities were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The HPTLC analysis exhibited a distinct carotenoid pattern among the three seaweed groups. The UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis showed fucoxanthin as the major carotenoid present in while lutein and zeaxanthin in . For , β-carotene and canthaxanthin were the major carotenoids. Some of the carotenoids, such as rubixanthin, dinoxanthin, diatoxanthin and antheraxanthin, were also tentatively detected in and . For antioxidant activity, (20 %) and (1128 μmol TE/g) showed the highest activity in the DPPH and ORAC assays, respectively. The findings suggest the three edible varieties of seaweeds may provide a good dietary source with a potential to reduce antioxidative stress.