Composition of pigments in brown algae collected from Bolok marine waters

Brown algae live and are attached to the bottom of the waters that can penetrate sunlight like land plants in general, macro algae have chlorophyll or other accessory pigments. Apart from being food ingredient, algae have also been widely used for medical purposes because it contains antioxidants so it is very good for health in addition to the function of photosynthesis. Each species of algae, has a different type of photosynthetic pigment, so that the type of color of light that is absorbed is also different to achieve an optimal photosynthesis process. Optimal photosynthesis process, in the end will directly affect all biological processes of the algae, for growth. The purpose of this study was to determine the composition of the types of pigments contained in the brown algae. The method used in this research was survey method for sample collection, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Spectrophotometry method are used for the separation of pigment types. The results of the study in the coastal waters of Bolok found three species of brown algae from Phaeophyta Division, namely Dictyota dichotoma, Pandina australis and Sargassum polycystum species. Pigment composition obtained 4-5 fractions with β-carotene pigment type, at Rf 1.0 while chlorophyll pigment is between Rf 0.5 – 0.6, pheophytin type is between Rf 0.4 – 0.5 while some groups of xanthophyll pigments found at the Rf value 0.2 – 0.3.