Farming the Sea
65
The Hawaiians are reputed to have been among the rst to
cultivate seaweeds, growing them in special marine gardens, but
the Japanese were certainly the rst to grow them on an extensive
commercial basis and to sell extracts from them all over the world.
There was a time when Japan supplied most of the world’s agar——
a
dried bleached seaweed extract which forms a clear jelly when
water is added. Agar is extracted from ‘red seaweeds’ (particularly
Gelidium gracilz'a and Pterocladia sp.). Today the main supplies
of agar come from Japan, South Africa, Ceylon, Australia, Macassar
and the USA. It is used in the manufacture of a variety of foodstus
from canned meat and sh to dessert jellies and salad dressings.
A different group of algae, the ‘brown seaweeds’, particularly the
oar weeds (Laminaria sp.), supply another range of complex sub—
stances—alginic acid and the alginates derived from it. If anything,
the alginates are more versatile than agar and in some cases they are
replacing it. Sodium alginate for example is now used to thicken
soups, sauces and creams—including ice cream. But agar still has
.
one universal use which is unlikely to be changed—as a base on
which microbes can be grown. Agar remains undigested by most
bacteria and since the end of the last century it has been used with
the addition of suitable nutrients to cultivate bacteria, moulds and,
more recently, isolated tissues. Agar is therefore found on the shelves
of most laboratories where microbes are studied. In this way,
material extracted from seaweed is having an impact, indirect
though it may be, on medicine, and there is now a growing interest
in nding other medical allies from marine organisms.
and palliatives
Although the sea has not provided natural drugs comparable to
those from the land, marine animals have gured prominently in
research into some fundamental questions such as how the nerve
conduCts its message and how the brain works. The sea has also been
-
the source of important food additives which have helped to prevent
certain deciency diseases. Iodine, once extracted from seaweed,
prevents goitre, and the vitamins extracted from sh liver oil still
provide that extra boost for many growing children. Several groups
of scientists are now making exhaustive searches for other useful
medical materials among the animals and plants found in and
around the sea.
One long—standing source of curiosity on the part of scientist and
3
.
65
The Hawaiians are reputed to have been among the rst to
cultivate seaweeds, growing them in special marine gardens, but
the Japanese were certainly the rst to grow them on an extensive
commercial basis and to sell extracts from them all over the world.
There was a time when Japan supplied most of the world’s agar——
a
dried bleached seaweed extract which forms a clear jelly when
water is added. Agar is extracted from ‘red seaweeds’ (particularly
Gelidium gracilz'a and Pterocladia sp.). Today the main supplies
of agar come from Japan, South Africa, Ceylon, Australia, Macassar
and the USA. It is used in the manufacture of a variety of foodstus
from canned meat and sh to dessert jellies and salad dressings.
A different group of algae, the ‘brown seaweeds’, particularly the
oar weeds (Laminaria sp.), supply another range of complex sub—
stances—alginic acid and the alginates derived from it. If anything,
the alginates are more versatile than agar and in some cases they are
replacing it. Sodium alginate for example is now used to thicken
soups, sauces and creams—including ice cream. But agar still has
.
one universal use which is unlikely to be changed—as a base on
which microbes can be grown. Agar remains undigested by most
bacteria and since the end of the last century it has been used with
the addition of suitable nutrients to cultivate bacteria, moulds and,
more recently, isolated tissues. Agar is therefore found on the shelves
of most laboratories where microbes are studied. In this way,
material extracted from seaweed is having an impact, indirect
though it may be, on medicine, and there is now a growing interest
in nding other medical allies from marine organisms.
and palliatives
Although the sea has not provided natural drugs comparable to
those from the land, marine animals have gured prominently in
research into some fundamental questions such as how the nerve
conduCts its message and how the brain works. The sea has also been
-
the source of important food additives which have helped to prevent
certain deciency diseases. Iodine, once extracted from seaweed,
prevents goitre, and the vitamins extracted from sh liver oil still
provide that extra boost for many growing children. Several groups
of scientists are now making exhaustive searches for other useful
medical materials among the animals and plants found in and
around the sea.
One long—standing source of curiosity on the part of scientist and
3
.