Integrated Analytical Technology for Complex Systems of Organic and Inorganic Mixtures in Seaweed

January 14, 2014

Toward field analysis of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products based on chemometrics

RIKEN CSRS has established a method to analyze and evaluate the integrated data sets obtained from seaweed by measuring with a wide range of analytical equipment to comprehensively capturing seasonal fluctuations in the constituent components.

The research team collected Sargassum fusiforme over the course of one year, using various types of analytical equipment to comprehensively measure the components in the gathered seaweed. The different data sets were integrated after applying preprocessing to individual sets. Using chemometric analyses such as self-organizing maps and structural equation modeling, the team captured the seasonal variations in characteristics of the seaweed components. The team also observed that changes in polysaccharide structures and mineral composition show synchronization with the fluctuations in the natural environment.

When the components of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products are measured for evaluation, the obtained data often deviate from the results obtained using a regular scientific approach. The evaluation method that the team has developed can calculate synchronism between different components in samples taken from the ever-shifting natural environment. This analytical method could lead to various evaluation opportunities for agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products by minimizing deviations between lab results and results from the natural environment.

Original article

Analytical Chemistry doi: 10.1021/ac402869b

K. Ito, K. Sakata, Y. Date, J. Kikuchi,

"Integrated analysis of seaweed components during seasonal fluctuation by data mining across heterogeneous chemical measurements with network visualization"

Contact

Jun Kikuchi

Team Leader

Environmental Metabolic Analysis Research Team