Seaweed Flora of the European North Atlantic and Mediterranean 6.3 Seaweeds Biodiversity and Potential 123
Part A | 6.3
Fig. 6.46 A. nodosum specimen
Habitat. On rocks in sheltered locations of the mid- to
the lower littoral zone.
Distribution. Distribution is confined to the North Atlantic basin, found in the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea,
Belt Sea, Northern Europe, Gulf of Maine, North Sea,
and Northwest Atlantic. Its northern limits are northern
Norway and the White Sea in the east, and Baffin Island
in the west. Southern distributions extend to northern
Portugal and New Jersey.
Uses and Compounds. A. nodosum is very effective at accumulating nutrients and minerals from the
surrounding seawater, and this is what makes them
a valuable resource for human enterprise. This species
is harvested for use in items such as food, fertilizer, soil conditioners, animal feed, skin and hair
care products, cleaners, degreasers, equestrian products, and nutritional supplements. It is also popular
in cosmetology and thalassotherapy. The Industry has
more than 200 product types from over 100 companies which include A. nodosum as an ingredient [6.3,
4, 760].
Extracts of this species have anticoagulant [6.761],
antiviral, and anti-inflammatory [6.762, 763], antibacterial [6.764, 765], antioxidant [6.763, 766], nematicidal [6.767], agricultural biostimulant [6.768], antitumor [6.432], antifouling [6.61], and phytobiotic [6.769]
activity.
Bifurcaria bifurcata R. Ross
Common Names. Brown tuning fork weed, Brown
forking weed
Description. Up to 30 cm in length; olive-yellow in
color, but much darker when dry (Fig. 6.47); holdfast
expanded and knobby; frond cylindrical, unbranched
near base then branching dichotomously. Elongate reproductive bodies present at ends of branches. Rounded
air bladders sometimes present [6.1].
Habitat. Epilithic in intertidal tide pools, occasionally exposed at low tide and extending into the shallow
sublittoral.
Distribution. Temperate NE Atlantic (from W Ireland
to Morocco).
Uses and Compounds. A linear cytotoxic diterpene bifurcadiol was isolated from the brown alga
B. bifurcata by Di Guardia et al. [6.770] which
exhibit cytotoxicity against cultured human tumor
Fig. 6.47 Bifurcaria bifurcata specimen
Part A | 6.3
Fig. 6.46 A. nodosum specimen
Habitat. On rocks in sheltered locations of the mid- to
the lower littoral zone.
Distribution. Distribution is confined to the North Atlantic basin, found in the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea,
Belt Sea, Northern Europe, Gulf of Maine, North Sea,
and Northwest Atlantic. Its northern limits are northern
Norway and the White Sea in the east, and Baffin Island
in the west. Southern distributions extend to northern
Portugal and New Jersey.
Uses and Compounds. A. nodosum is very effective at accumulating nutrients and minerals from the
surrounding seawater, and this is what makes them
a valuable resource for human enterprise. This species
is harvested for use in items such as food, fertilizer, soil conditioners, animal feed, skin and hair
care products, cleaners, degreasers, equestrian products, and nutritional supplements. It is also popular
in cosmetology and thalassotherapy. The Industry has
more than 200 product types from over 100 companies which include A. nodosum as an ingredient [6.3,
4, 760].
Extracts of this species have anticoagulant [6.761],
antiviral, and anti-inflammatory [6.762, 763], antibacterial [6.764, 765], antioxidant [6.763, 766], nematicidal [6.767], agricultural biostimulant [6.768], antitumor [6.432], antifouling [6.61], and phytobiotic [6.769]
activity.
Bifurcaria bifurcata R. Ross
Common Names. Brown tuning fork weed, Brown
forking weed
Description. Up to 30 cm in length; olive-yellow in
color, but much darker when dry (Fig. 6.47); holdfast
expanded and knobby; frond cylindrical, unbranched
near base then branching dichotomously. Elongate reproductive bodies present at ends of branches. Rounded
air bladders sometimes present [6.1].
Habitat. Epilithic in intertidal tide pools, occasionally exposed at low tide and extending into the shallow
sublittoral.
Distribution. Temperate NE Atlantic (from W Ireland
to Morocco).
Uses and Compounds. A linear cytotoxic diterpene bifurcadiol was isolated from the brown alga
B. bifurcata by Di Guardia et al. [6.770] which
exhibit cytotoxicity against cultured human tumor
Fig. 6.47 Bifurcaria bifurcata specimen