Algae as food Part l

More than 100 species of Pheophyceae,Rhodophyceae,Cholorophyceae and Cyanobacteria are the good sources of protein,carbohydrates ,polyunsaturated fatty acids,lipids, minerals,vitamins and fiber content;hence used as human food . According to FAO (2014), 38% of the global production of sea weeds(23.8million,2012) is consumed as kelps, nori and laver.

            Among Pheophyceae,  the genera like Alaria,Laminaria, Sargassum,Durvillea and Pelvetia  are used as food in different parts of the world:-

i) kombu- It is a famous dish of Japan which is prepared from Laminaria (57% carbohydrates).

ii) Sarumen- It is prepared from Alaria in Japan.

iii)Cachiyago- Dried and salted  Durvillea prepared by natives of South America.


The food value of brown algae is:-

       Protein-  6.15%  (17 amino acids)
       Fats      -  1.56%
       Carbohydrates-  57.04% 
                                       [according to Prescott,1969]

        Among Rhodophyceae,genera like Gigartina stellata, Rhodymenia palmata,etc are used as food in different costal areas. Few others are discussed below:

i)Porphyra: It is  a good source of vitamin B and Vitamin C, carbohydrates (45%) and protein (35%) and its dishes are popular across the globe as  nori,laver, sloke and luche in Japan,UK and USA, Scotland and Southern Chilli respectively
(Bold and Wynne, 1978).

ii)Palmaria: The dishes prepared from Palmaria are known as dulse,sol,dillisk in Canada, Iceland and Ireland respectively.

iii)Chondrus crispus ( common name Irish moss):It is used with vanilla to prepare icecreams.



Among Chlorophyceae, the following uses are observerd:

i) In Japan Monostroma  is cultivated to prepare the  popular dish 'aonori'.

ii)Ulva and Codium : These are used as salads

iii)Chlorella:  Its is consumed as soup by astronauts. According to Backer,2007 and Chisti,2007 the food value of two species of Chlorella are as follows
     a) Chlorella pyrenoidosa : Protein-57%
                                                Carbohydrates-26%
                                                    Lipid - 2%
     b) Chlorella vulgaris : Protein :51-58%
                                         Carbohydrates:12-17 %
                                             Lipid: 14 -22%
According to Blozencic (2007), Chlorella contains more vitamin than most cultivated plants .
 
         In South India , "green laver" is prepared from Spirogyra and Oedogonium.  The genus Scenedesmus is equivalent to skimmed milk.

        Among Blue Green Algae , Nostoc and Spirulina are  very popular. Nostoc commune is popularised as Yuyucho in Southeast Asia. Spirulina is a good source of digestible protein (62-72%), vitamins , amino acids,minerals,crude fibres,etc and used as SCP (single cell Protein) supplyment food.