7. 3. 2018
Sampling of jellyfish is not as straightforward as one would think. The success of sampling depends on the location, jellyfish species, the aim and season of the year. One of the aims of GoJelly is to develop sampling protocols. When developing a suitable sampling protocol, we must therefore strategically plan:
– WHAT: we must sample jellyfish but also surrounding seawater (and later test it for microbial contenct, chemical parameters, presence of bioactive compounds etc)
– WHY: when jellyfish are stressed, they produce mucus. The essential question is – why do we sample? Do we need the mucus or do we want the jellyfish as stress-free as possible? Do the jellyfish releases any bioactive compounds? The sampling protocols are then adapted based on the purpose of the researches!
– HOW: a common storage protocol must be agreed upon as samples should be stored in refrigerated boxes and analyzed as soon as possible! We need to comapare the results amog different jellyfish species and samples coming from the diverse European working groups.
At CNR-ISPA, Italy, we sample jellyfish to evaluate their usefulness as food or food ingredient, we want to maintain their possible nutraceutical value if any, until lab analysis.