| Summary: | The southern coast of Peru presents a wide diversity of seaweed, which could be used as a new sustainable source of nutritional and bioactive compounds. For the first time, we chemically characterized two species of brown (<i>Macrocystis pyrifera</i>) and red (<i>Chondracanthus chamissoi</i>) Peruvian seaweed. Both species contained significant amounts of proteins (5–12%), lipids (0.16–0.74%), carbohydrates (43.29–62.65%) and minerals (1300–1800 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> dw: dry weight). However, the profiles of amino acids, fatty acids and minerals were highly dependent on species type. <i>C. chamissoi</i> had a higher content of essential amino acids and minerals than <i>M. pyrifera</i> (170% and 45%, respectively), while the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω 6) as well as the content of tocopherols was higher in <i>M. pyrifera</i> (15.77 g 100 g<sup>−1</sup> and 2.37 μg 100 g<sup>−1</sup>, respectively). Additionally, both species presented significant concentrations of total polyphenols (39–59 mg GAE g<sup>−1</sup>) and a high antioxidant capacity (67–98 µM TE g<sup>−1</sup>). Although <i>M. pyrifera</i> and <i>C. chamissoi</i> seem to be excellent raw materials for the food and nutraceutical industry, both species contained toxic heavy metals (cadmium: Cd and nickel: Ni) which could affect the safety of their direct use. Therefore, new separation strategies that allow the selective recovery of nutrients and bioactive compounds from Peruvian seaweed are required.
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