About the Seaweed

3. ABOUT THE SEAWEED

Seaweeds are a group of primitive non-flowering marine plants with no

distinguishable root, stem and leaves. They are valuable renewable marine living

resource and distributed in the intertidal, shallow and deep waters of the sea up to

150m depth. They also occur in estuaries and backwaters. Seaweeds grow on rocks,

dead coral stones, pebbles, solid substrates and other plants as epiphytes. Based on the

type of pigments, morphological and anatomical characters, seaweeds are broadly

classified in to green, brown, red and blue-green algae.

DISTRIBUTION:

In India, several species of green, brown, red and blue-green algae with

luxuriant growth occur along the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu from Rameswaram to

Kanyakumari covering 21 islands in Gulf of Mannar. In Gujarat coast, seaweeds

occur abundantly at Okha, Dwarka, Porbandar, Veraval, Diu and Gopnath. Rich

seaweeds are present in Lakshadweep, Andaman -Nicobar islands and also in and

around Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Goa, Karwar, Varkala, Vizhinjiam, Visakhapatnam and

coastal lakes such as Pulicat and Chilka (Kaliaperumal N et al, 1987 &1995). In

Indian waters so far 271 genera and 1153 species of marine algae (43 genera and 213

species of green algae, 37 genera and 289 species of brown algae, 135 genera and 431

species of red algae and 56 genera and 220 species of blue-green algae) have been

reported (Krishnamurthy V, 2005). However a survey carried out in 2000 revealed

less number of species (844) with similar genera number (271) (Oza RM and Zaidi

SH, 2000).

The Southern Coast of India bears luxuriant growth of seaweeds. More than

200 species of seaweeds have been found in this area. The survey conducted by

Page 30
 About the Seaweed

Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute and Central Marine Fisheries

Institute and the Department of Fisheries, Government of Tamil Nadu on seaweed

resources in South Indian coast revealed the vast hidden wealth of seaweeds from this

region which has a great bearing on the future of seaweed based industries in India.

Apart from the commonly available 200 species of seaweeds, about 680

species of marine algae belonging to Rhodophyta, Phaeophyta, Chlorophyta

commonly known as red, brown and green seaweeds have also been identified in both

inter-tidal and deep water regions. Among these seaweeds green algae are rare. Brown

algae are widely distributed. Red algae are small and delicate, with a feathery

appearance. (http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/PIBF0206981.html)

A study on distribution of macroalgae from southern districts of Tamil Nadu

namely Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram was carried out during

June 2009 to June 2010. In total 57 taxa of marine algae belonging to 37 genera

representing Rhodophyta (25 taxa), Chlorophyta (18 taxa), Phaeophyta (14 taxa) were

recorded. Highest number of algae was recorded from Bay of Bengal (67.7 %),

followed by Indian ocean (25 %) and Arabian sea coasts (8%). (Sahayaraj K et al,

2014)

Page 31
 About the Seaweed

SELECTION OF SEAWEEDS:

Marine Red algae - Gelidiella acerosa and Brown algae - Sargassum

ilicifolium was selected for the study.They were collected from the intertidal area of

Mandapam coast, Gulf of Mannar region, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. (Figure 3.1)

Figure 3.1 Map showing Gulf of Mannar

Table 3.1 Distribution of selected seaweeds in India

(Kaliaperumal N and Kalimuthu S, 1997)

Seaweed species Places of occurrence in India Period of

occurrence

Sargassum Mumbai, Karwar, Goa, Chennai, Tuticorin, Throughout the year

ilicifolium Mandapam, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and

Andaman-Nicobar

Gelidiella Okha, Dwarka, Porbandar, Diu, Veraval, Throughout the year

acerosa Manapad, Tuticorin, Mandapam, Lakshadweep

and Andaman-Nicobar

Page 32
 About the Seaweed

Figure 3.2 Gelidiella acerosa (Forsskal) Borgesen

Taxonomical classification:

Kingdom : Plantae

Phylum : Rhodophyta

Class : Florideophyceae

Order : Gelidiales

Family : Gelidiellaceae

Genus : Gelidiella

Species : Gelidiella acerosa

DESCRIPTION:

Gelidiella acerosa is a red algae with yellowish-brown, tufted, entangled,

erect, cylindrical thalli reaching 6 centimeters tall. The ends of the fronds are

pinnately divided, giving it a feathered appearance. Branch tips of Gelidiella

acerosa terminate in a single apical cell. Short, thick branches attached to the

substratum by stoloniferous rhizoids form dense mats along shallow reefs. The algae

Gelidiella acerosa is found on surf-exposed and moderately wave-sheltered rocks and

reefs in the lower eulittoral and the sublittoral zone, and in tide pools at higher levels

on the shore.

Page 33
 About the Seaweed

Habitat: Tide pools or intertidal; attached to rock reefs at depth of 0-1 m; in

association with Gelidiopsis and Gelidium species.

Biogeography: Gelidiella acerosa occurs in tropical and sub-tropical seas all over

the world. Atlantic Islands: Azores, Cape Verde Islands, Central America, Caribbean

Islands, Africa, Indian ocean Islands, South-west Asia, South-east Asia, Australia and

New Zealand, Pacific Islands.

Common names: Kembangkarang (Java), Sangau (Indon), Culot, Gulaman, Intip-

intip, Marikozhundupassi.

Uses: Gelidiella acerosa is an important commercial species for agar production. It

has also been used traditionally for the preparation of agar-forming hard jellies, or

eaten fresh, and also prepared as a salad vegetable or cooked and eaten mixed with

rice. However, over recent years, it has become a key ingredient in a staggering

number of products. It is used in nearly 150 hair products, including:

 Hair color and bleaching

 Shampoos and conditioners

 Styling mousse, foam, gels, sprays, and lotions

 Hair relaxers and detanglers

 Anti-dandruff hair masks

There are over 50 documented skin protective products and applications of Gelidiella

acerosa, including:

 Sunless tanning, and also moisturizers with SPF

 Mask, peels, acne creams, gels and facial moisturizers and treatments

 Foundations, eye creams and eye makeup removers

 Anti-aging treatments, skin toners, body mists and firming lotions

 Facial cleansers, bar soaps, body washes and cleansers body muds

 Repair creams for hands and feet, body creams, and moisture creams

Page 34
 About the Seaweed

Figure 3.3 Sargassum ilicifolium (Turner) C. Agardh

Taxonomical classification:

Kingdom : Chromista

Phylum : Orchrophyta

Class : Phaeophyceae

Order : Fucales

Family : Sargassaceae

Genus : Sargassum

Species : Sargassum ilicifolium

Description:

Sargassum is common in temperate regions but less conspicuous than kelps

belongs to order Fucales or rockweeds. It was first described by Agardh nearly 200

years ago (1820). It is an upright macro algae dominant in tropical seas and plays

major role in structuring ecosystems.

The Sargasso sea gets its name because of these abundance large floating

masses of Sargassum.

Sargassum ilicifolium is a brown algae with irregular thallus shape with basal

holdfast which is discoid or conical. Main axis cylindrical and warty and secondary

axis cylindrical to slightly flattened and smooth. Leaves are light brown to darker,

Page 35
 About the Seaweed

thick and leathery in exposed habitats to thinner and crisped in more sheltered

habitats. The leaves are obovate to spatulate, ovate or orbicular. Petioles are short or

absent, base rounded or oblique, apex obtuse, rounded or acute, often with a cup-

shaped depression. The margins are denticulate, erose or biserrate. The midrib is thin

running to 2 ⁄ 3 of the length of the leaf or percurrent, cryptostomata thin and scattered

over leaf surface. Vesicles mostly spherical but sometimes ovate to pyriform, obovoid

or spherical, smooth, with a short spine-like or ear-like mucron, receptacles mostly

unisexual (female and male receptacles on different plants) but some bisexual (female

and male conceptacles in a same receptacle). Female receptacles are flattened and

stocky, oblong to spatulate, simple or bifid with a deep dentate margin. Male

receptacles are cylindrical, slender, simple or bifid, bearing thin spine-like

protuberances on margins. Bisexual receptacles are in dense clusters, warty, branched,

cylindrical to slightly flattened, and bearing coarse spine-like protuberances at

margins or only at the apex. (Mattio L et al, 2009)

Fronds are 40-65 cm high and brown. It holdfast a plate like disc 1-1.4 cm

wide. Main axis terete, 2-4 cm long, 1.5 mm in diameter, bearing several primary

branches. Primary branches sub cylindrical, slightly compressed, with smooth surface,

1 mm in diameter. Secondary branches similar to primary branches, arranged as

racemose, generally 5-15 cm long. Branchlet giving rise from secondary branches,

shorter and more slender than secondary branches, which is 1.5-2.5 cm long (Basha

SF and Muthukumar C, 2014).

Habitat: Shallow reef flats and rocky bottom. It often detaches from reefs and forms

vast pelagic mats

Biogeography: Indo-Pacific region, Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Japan.

Page 36
 About the Seaweed

Common names: Gulf weed, Sea holly (English), Hai Zao, Hai Qian (Chinese),

Hondawara (Japan), Mojaban (Korean).

Uses: Sargassum seaweeds are eaten by people, and used as fish bait in basket traps,

animal feed, fertilizer and insect repellent. Various species are used as medicine for

ailments ranging from children's fever, cholesterol problems, cleansing the blood and

for skin ailments. In the tropics, Sargassum seaweeds are a significant source of

alginates. They are also used as a component in animal feed and liquid plant food or

plant biostimulants (Simpi Chandraraj et al, 2010).

Harvesting : Gelidiella acerosa is harvested in Hawaii, Asia and the Indo-Pacific,

especially around Japan, India, and China. Sargassum ilicifolium is harvested in Indo-

Pacific regions mainly during winter. The seasonality of Gelidiella acerosa is not well

explored, although it is often most frequently harvested in dry or cooler seasons. A

population can grow in 6 months up to 7 times its original weight.

Harvesting Techniques: Both Gelidiella acerosa and Sargassum ilicifolium are

harvested by hand either from wild stocks or more commonly from cultivated

seaweed farms or those grown as part of integrated aquaculture techniques.

Page 37
 About the Seaweed

REFERENCES:

Basha, S.F. and Muthukumar, C. (2014). Preliminary phytochemical screening and in

vitro angiotension activity of bioactive compound-steroid isolated from

sargassum ilicifolium. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci, 6, Suppl 2,pp.299-301.

Chandraraj, S., Prakash, B. and Navanath, K. (2010). Immunomodulatory activities of

ethyl acetate extracts of two marine sponges Gelliodes fibrosa and Tedania

anhelans and brown algae Sargassum ilicifolium with reference to

phagocytosis. Res J Pharm Biol Chem Sci, 1(2), pp.302-07.

http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/PIBF0206981.html (Accessed 24 Mar. 2016)

Kaliaperumal, N. and Kalimuthu, S. (1997). Seaweed potential and its exploitation in

India. Seaweed Research and Utilisation, 19 (1&2), pp.33-40.

Kaliaperumal, N., Chennubhotla, V.S. and Kalimuthu, S. (1987). Seaweed resources

of India. CMFRI Bulletin, 41, pp.51-54.

Kaliaperumal, N., Kalimuthu, S. and Ramalingam, J.R. (1995). Economically

important seaweeds. CMFRI Special Publication, 62, pp.1-35.

Krishnamurthy, V.(2005). Anonymous Seaweeds-Wonder plants of the

sea. Aquaculture Foundation of India, Chennai. pp.29.

Mattio, L., Payri, C. and Verlaque, M. (2009). taxonomic revision and geographic

distribution of the subgenus Sargassum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) in the

western and central pacific islands based on morphological and molecular

analyses. Journal of Phycology, 45(5), pp.1213-1227.

Oza, R.M. and Zaidi, S.H. (2001). A revised checklist of Indian marine algae.Central

Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute India.pp.296

Sahayaraj, K., Rajesh, S., Asha, A., Rathi, J.M. and Raja, P. (2014). Distribution and

diversity assessment of the marine macroalgae at four southern districts of

Tamil Nadu, India. Indian J. Geo-Marine Sciences,43(4), pp.607-617.

Page 38