CUDDALORE:
When the global warming is threatening the terrestrial eco-system, the marine plants are holding out the hope to humanity because these are the rich sources for pharmacology, food products and taxonomical studies.
Above all, these plants also have the potential for bio-fuel production. Hence, the vision of the experts and the policy-makers is now directed towards the oceans to tap the potential of the marine and coastal plants. These are certain views expressed by the experts who participated in the national symposium on “Marine plants” jointly organised by the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology of Annamalai University and the Seaweed Research and Utilization Association at Parangipettai near Chidambaram on Thursday.
Emeritus scientist M.Uma Maheswara Rao said that India had a 7,500-km long coastline with rich macro-algal diversity, numbering 936 species reported so far. Only about 9 per cent of this source was used and the remaining 91 per cent remained untapped.
Marine algae had been used as food and medicine for centuries. Chemical studies conducted on Indian species had shown that these algae were not only rich sources for minerals, trace elements and fibre but also produced a variety of unique substances such as sulphated polysaccharides, pigments, fats, proteins, amino acids, vitamins and antioxidants.
Mr. Rao said that many of these compounds had potential commercial applications and they could be utilised for the production of human food supplements or neutraceuticals, aquaculture feeds, cosmetics and food colourings.
According to R.Rengasamy, Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, University of Madras, seaweeds were the store house of fine chemicals which may have curative properties for tuberculosis, arthritis, colds and influenza, worm infection and even tumour. Seaweeds were known to concentrate several folds of nutrients in the ambient waters. Therefore, conversion of seaweeds into manure or liquid fertilizer for agricultural crops was an excellent means to get the nutrients back to the land, he said.
V.Krishnamurthy, Director of the Krishnamurthy Institute of Algology, Chennai, said that bio-fuel production from algae was possible by two means:
methano-bacterium could be introduced into the seaweed slurry to obtain methane, and, lipid content of marine algae could be extracted to convert it into bio-diesel. Vice-Chancellor of Annamalai University M.Ramanathan said that the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology had been made a full-fledged faculty because it was offering a comprehensive study on basic sciences such as botany, zoology, biology and pharmacology.
He said the centre was acting as a role model for other departments in the university in carrying out the research works. Director of the centre T.Balasubramanian said that the centre would soon set up a facility for commercial exploitation of phytoplankton.
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