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SEAWEED RESOURCES OF INDIA AND ITS ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Palanisamy, M., S.K. Yadav and Althaf Ahamed Kabeer

Botanical Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, TNAU Campus,Coimbatore – 641 003, Tamil Nadu, IndiaCorresponding author:samy_bsi@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT

Review Article

INTRODUCTION

Seaweeds are the marine macro algae and exclusivelyfound in marine habitats. It grows mainly on rocks,coralline beds, reefs, pebbles, shells, dead corals andalso as epiphytes on other plants like seagrasses in theintertidal shallow sub-tidal and deep sea areas up to 180m depth where the sunlight can penetrate water andprovide energy for photosynthesis. The plant body ofseaweeds is called thallus and it consists of 3 parts: (1)Holdfast, the basal part which is analogous to roots ofthe higher plants; (2) stipe, the middle portion, acting asstem of the vascular plants and supports seaweeds towithstand and (3) fronds, the apical portion, somewhatsimilar to leaves (lamina) of higher plants. Based on thephotosynthetic pigments, colours, and reserve foodmaterials, seaweeds are classified into three groups viz.Chlorophyceae (green algae), Phaeophyceae (brownalgae) and Rhodophyceae (red algae). Seaweeds playan important role in sustainabil i ty of the marineecosystems. Presently, there are 11,500 taxa ofseaweeds reported and described from the world (Guiry& Guiry, 2016).

Indian seaweed habitats

India (8°-37° N & 68°-97° E) being a peninsular country,has a coastline of about 7500 km including those of islandsof Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep and endowedwith unique marine habitats (Fig. 1). It has an ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) of around 2.5 million sq km andgifted with 97 major estuaries, 34 major lagoons, 31mangroves areas, 5 coral reefs, 31 Marine Protected Areasor MPAs (Singh, 2003). These diverse habitats support awide range of marine biological diversity and constitutean integral part of the floral diversity of India (Plate 1).

The mainland coast of India is broadly divided into theEast and the West coasts. The west coast is usuallyexposed with heavy surf, rocky shores and headlandswhile the East coast is generally shelving with beaches,lagoons, delta and marshes. Some of the important placesof algal occurrence in India are Okha port, Dwarka, Gulfof Kutch, Bombay, Malvan, Goa, Majali, Karwar, Serikuli,Taderi, Surathkal, Manjeshwar, Thikkodi, Thirumullavaram,Varkala, Somatheeram in the west coast andKanyakumari, Mahabalipuram, Gulf of Mannar, Tuticorin,

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PP: 83 - 91

Seaweeds (marine macro algae) are the integral component of the marine biodiversity and play an important role inthe stability of the marine ecosystems. India, with a coastline of about 7500 km length and Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) of around 2.5 million sq. km., is endowed with diverse habitats like rocks, corals, reefs, estuaries, lagoons,islands, etc. These diverse habitats support excellent growth of a wide range of seaweeds in Indian coast. Presently,865 species of seaweeds belonging to 442 species of Rhodophyceae, 212 species of Chlorophyceae and 211 speciesof Phaeophyceae are reported from India. Many species of these seaweeds are economically important resources andare used for food, fodder, raw materials for various biochemical industries like Agar-Agar, Algin, Carageenans, textiles,pharmaceuticals etc. Therefore these resources should be utilized sustainably for the welfare of the mankind.

Keywords: Seaweeds, Marine Macro Algae, Indian coast, Economical importance.

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Kovalam, Visakhapatnam, Chilka lake and Sundarbans inthe east coast. Presently, 865 species of seaweeds havebeen reported from various parts of the Indian coasts (Rao& Gupta, 2015).

Seaweed diversity in Indian coastPresently, there are about 45,000 species of algae reportedand described from the world wide, of which seaweedsconstitute about 11, 500 species. Of the total number ofseaweeds, Rhodophyceae is dominant with about 6,500species, followed by Phaeophyceae with 2,000 speciesand Chlorophyceae with 1,500 species (Guiry & Guiry,2016). In India, a total of 865 species of seaweedscomprising 442 species of Rhodophyceae in 151 genera,212 species of Chlorophyceae in 46 genera and 211species of Phaeophyceae in 50 genera (Plates 2-4).

The diversity and distribution of seaweeds along the Indiancoast is not uniform in all the coastal areas and it showswide variations in terms of seaweeds diversity. The TamilNadu coast shows the highest number of seaweeds with426 species (Anon, 1978), followed by Maharashtra coastwith 240 species (Piwalatkar, 2010); Gujarat coast with202 species (Jha & al., 2009); Kerala coast with 137species (Yadav & al., 2015); Lakshadweep islands with82 species (Anon, 1979) and Andaman & Nicobar islandswith 80 species (Muthuvelan & al., 2001); Karnataka with78 species (Kaladharan & al., 2011); Diu island with 70species (Mantri & Subba Rao, 2005); Andhra Pradesh with65 species (Anon, 1984); West Bengal with 14 species(Mukhopadhyay & Pal, 2002); Odisha with 14 species(Sahoo & al., 2003). However, many of the Indian maritimestates have not been explored intensively thus we cannot

claim to have a complete picture of the seaweed flora ofthe country.

Economical importance of seaweedsSeaweeds are economically one of the most importantmarine natural resources and have been used by thehuman being since long time (Plate 5). Presently, 221species of seaweeds are commercially utilized, whichincludes 145 species for food and 110 species forphycocolloid production (Sahoo, 2000, Chennubhotla etal., 2013a). In the recent years, several studies have beencarried out in different part of the country for variouspurposes. The economic importance of seaweeds can bedealt under the following headings:

1. Seaweeds as foodThe utilization of seaweeds as food in the form of recipes,salads, soups, jellies and vinegar dishes is well known inmany Indo-Pacific countries since long ago (Chennubhotlaet al., 2013a). In recent years, many of the south eastAsian countries like China, Japan, Thailand, Korea etc.have started large scale exploitation of seaweeds for food.However, in Indian context, the uses of seaweeds in theform of food are still very limited. With the continuousincrease in human population and shrinking of agriculturallands, the cultivation of seaweeds in coastal areas, onlarge scale, may serve as an alternative source of foodfor local people. Worldwide, about 145 species ofseaweeds, mostly green seaweeds are edible and usedas food mainly in the form of soup, salad and curry.Recently, Kavale & Chaugule (2013) reported thatPorphyra vietnamensis – a red seaweed, has severalnutritional components like proteins, carbohydrates, lipids,vitamins and fatty acids and potentially useful for humanconsumption.

Major genera of edible seaweedsChlorophyceae: Enteromorpha, Ulva, Cladophora,Brypsis, Caulerpa, Codium etc.Phaeophyceae: Colpomenia, Hydroclathrus, Laminariaetc.Rhodophyceae: Porphyra, Gracilaria, Gelidium,Rhodymenia, Chondrus etc.

2. Seaweeds as fodderMany species of seaweeds are suitable for feedinglivestock, sheep and are used as fodder on large scale inmany parts of the world such as Norway, Iceland, France,USA and many other European countries. In Norway,Ascophyllum is used as pigmeal, Rhodymenia as horsemeal (Kaladharan, 2014). In Iceland, fresh seaweeds arecommonly utilized as fodder for sheep, cattle and horses.In many parts of Europe, dried and processed seaweedsare served for livestocks. Some of the major genera,

Figure 1.Map showing Indian coastlines.

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Plate 1.Sea weed habitats in Indian coast

Green seaweeds at Surathkal coast, Karnataka Luxuriant growth of seaweeds exposed during lowtide at Thikkodi coast, Kerala

Rocky coast of Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu Enormous growth of green seaweeds atIdianthakarai coast, Tamil Nadu

Rocks supporting green seaweeds at Puducherrycoast

Scenic beauty of sunset at Mahatma GandhiMarine National Park, South Andaman Islands

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Plate 2.Green Sea Weeds: Chlorophyceae

Chaetomorpha antennina (Bory) Kuetz. Cladophora vagabunda (L.) C. Hoek.

Enteromorpha compressa (L.) Nees. Ulva fasciata Delile

Caulerpa racemosa (Forssk.) J. Agardh Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh.

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Plate 3.Brown Sea Weeds: Phaeophyceae

Dictyota dichotoma (Huds.) J.V. Lamour Lobophora variegata (J.V. Lamour) Womersleyex E.C.Oliveira

Padina pavonica (L.) Thivy Padina tetrastromatica Hauck

Stoechospermum marginatum (C. Agardh)Kuetz.

Sargassum tenerrimum J. Agardh

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Plate 4.Red Sea Weeds: Rhodophyceae

Porphyra vietnamensis Tak. Tanaka & P.H. Ho Gelidium micropterum Kuetz.

Gracilaria corticata (J. Agardh) J. Agardh Gracilaria foliifera (Forssk.) Boergesen

Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevis. Hypnea esperi Bory

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Plate 5.Economic importance of Sea Weeds

Seaweed cultivation in Tamil Nadu coastal region Seaweed cleaning and segregation for preservation

Seaweed preservation in wet condition Seaweed grazing by domestic animals

Seaweed extracts used for making Agar-Agar, Alginate and various other products and neutraceuticals(courtesy: Late Prof. V. Krishnamurthy)

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mostly brown and green seaweeds which are used asfodder arePhaeophyceae: Laminaria, Sargassum, Disctyopteris,Fucus etc.Chlorophyceae: Ulva, Enteromorpha, Cladophora,Bryopsis, Cladophora etc.Rhodophyceae: Rhodymenia, Hypnea, Gracilaria etc.

3. Seaweeds in Chemical IndustriesMany species of seaweeds are used as raw materials forsupporting various industries for production ofphycocolloides (agar-agar, algin, carrageenans, etc.) andin pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and textile industries.

Agar-AgarAgar is a gelatinous substance and found in the cell wallof certain red seaweeds. It is widely used in variousbiochemical and microbial laboratories. Gelidiacea andGracilariaceae are two major source of Agar extraction.Some of the important and commonly used red seaweedsare Gelidium micropterum, G. pusillum Gelidiella acerosa,Gracilaria edulis, G. Crassa, G. Crassa, G. foliifera and G.verrucosa.

AlginAlgin, also known as Alginic acid or Alginate is apolysaccharide and is mainly extracted from the brownseaweeds. It is widely used in making medicines as it hasthe capacity to reduce Cholesterol level and also to reducethe amount of heavy metals from our body. The commonlyused seaweeds for Algin extraction are species ofSargassum, Turbinaria, Cystoceira, Dictyota, Padina,Hormophysa, Colpomenia, Spatoglossum,Stoechospermum etc. (Anantharaman &Balasubramanian, 2010).

CarrageenansCarrageenans or carrageenins are a group of sulphatedpolysachharides and are extracted mainly from the redseaweeds. It has gelling, thickening and stabilizingproperties and therefore, widely used in food industries,dairy, ice creams, milkshakes, yogurts, souces, processedmeats, toothpaste making, shampoo and other cosmeticsetc. Initially, it was extracted only from Chondrus crispus,a red seaweed also called Iris moss or Carageen moss.But now it is also obtained from other red seaweeds likeGigartina, Kappaphycus (Euchema), Hypnea etc.

Pharmaceutical IndustriesPlants serve as reliable source of medication for nearly60% of the world’s population (Chennubhotla et al., 2013b).Many species of seaweeds contain secondary metaboliteswhich are of pharmaceutical importance and used in

making drugs for human beings. It is widely used byChinese, Romans and Europeans for getting relief inwounds, burns, rabies etc. Many species are used as aconstituent in modern allopathic medicines like Tetramycinsuspensions, Penicillium suspension, Triple sulphatablets, Anti acid tablets, Calamine lotions, Surgical jellies,Hemostatic powders etc.

Besides, many seaweeds contain organic and inorganicsubstance which are used as Nutraceuticles (substancesused for performing the basic function of nutrition, andimprove health).

4. Seaweeds as Fertilizer (SLF) and ManureThe seaweed biomass acts as manures in agriculturalfields. In the recent years, liquid extracts of seaweeds,especially phaeophyceae, are used as Seaweed LiquidFertilizers (SLF). The successful applications of SLF onvarious crops have been reported recently by variousworkers (Rao, 1990; Rani, 2010, 2011; Sujatha & al., 2011;Usha & al., 2013; Renukabai & al., 2013; Babu & al., 2015).Some of the commonly used seaweeds for SLF areDictyopteris, Dictyota, Padina, Lobophora, Sargassum etc.

CONCLUSION

Seaweeds are one of the most important marine naturalresources and integral part of the biodiversity. It hasimmense economic values and can be used as food,fodder and providing raw materials for various industries.Many species of seaweeds have great potentials inpharmaceutical and food industries. The artificialcultivation of these economically important seaweedslarge scale by the local people in coastal areas can supportas an additional source of income and would help inestablishing seaweed-based industries. Therefore, moreresearch should be carried out in this field for betterexploration, documentation and sustainable utilization ofthis promising marine natural resources for the welfare ofmankind.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are thankful to the Director, Botanical Surveyof India, Kolkata and Head of Office, Botanical Survey ofIndia, Southern Regional Centre, Coimbatore for facilities.

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