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PHANG et al (2007)<br />

sandy areas, mudflats, coral reefs and rocky shores. Turbinaria and the encrusting Lobophora<br />

variegata often accompany the Padina on the intertidal coral reefs. The new species Sargassum<br />

stolonifolium Phang and Yoshida described from Penang Island, is the first in the genus to<br />

exhibit the phenomena of new plantlets derived from the first leaves (Phang & Yoshida 1997).<br />

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF SEAWEEDS IN MALAYSIA<br />

Early records show that several seaweeds were utilised in Malaysia for food, animal feed,<br />

fertiliser and traditional medicine (Burkill 1966, Hooper 1960, Zaneveld 1959, Phang 1984).<br />

Seaweeds like Gracilaria changii, G. edulis, G. salicornia, G. tenuispitata and Gelidium spp.<br />

are used as salads and for the preparation of desserts such as agar-agar. Sarer which is a<br />

species of Gracilaria forms part of the food for the ‘buka puasa’ during the fasting months,<br />

especially along the east coast. In Sabah Eucheuma and Caulerpa are collected and eaten<br />

either raw or blanched in salads. In the Chinese medicine shops one can buy dried Sargassum,<br />

Turbinaria and Ulva of unknown origin, which is popularly used by the Chinese in a soup<br />

considered as a rich source of iodine and which ‘cools’ the body system. The nutritional value<br />

of Malaysian seaweeds is not known except for a short study reporting on the lipid and fattyacid<br />

content of selected seaweeds (Norazmi 2001). Nine species of seaweeds were analysed<br />

for fatty acid composition, and Dictyota dichotoma was found to contain the highest (17.6%<br />

ash-free dry wt) amount of lipids. All the seaweeds contained eicosapentaenoic acid ranging<br />

from 2.4 to 10.7% total fatty acid, with Gracilaria edulis having the highest content.<br />

Of the Malaysian seaweeds, only Eucheuma (Kappaphycus) is presently cultivated for the<br />

commercial production of carrageenan chips as well as semi-refined carrageenan in Tawau,<br />

Sabah. Fishing families around Semporna, east coast Sabah, are involved in the mariculture<br />

of the Eucheuma using the monofilament techniques in the reefs fringing the islands near<br />

Semporna. The average cultivation period is 45 days and continues for eight months of the<br />

year. The monthly production from Semporna was around 60 to 100 tonnes dry wt per month<br />

(Phang 1998). The harvested seaweed is sun dried on the platforms of houses built on the<br />

reefs and sold at RM 1.10 (US$1 = RM3.8) per kg dry wt (moisture content of 32 to 35%) to<br />

the carrageenan producers. There are three semi-refined carrageenan factories in Tawau.<br />

Gracilaria changii, a good source of high quality agar and agarose (Phang 1994b) has also<br />

been experimentally cultivated in shrimp ponds, mangrove ponds and irrigation canals (Phang<br />

et al. 1996). Unlike Eucheuma, Gracilaria farming has not gone large-scale, probably because<br />

there are no large agar factories in the region.<br />

The search for novel bioactive compounds from marine algae has revealed tropical seaweeds<br />

to be a potentially important source (Masuda et al. 2002, Varaippan et al. 2004). Bioactive<br />

properties of seaweeds range from antiviral to antioxidant, immunostimulatory, anti-coagulant,<br />

anti-thrombic and anti-inflammatory. Traditionally coralline algae like Corallina and Amphiroa<br />

are crushed and fed to children to expel worms. Halimeda opuntia, Acanthophora spicifera,<br />

Laurencia, Eucheuma spinosum, Gracilaria sp., Hypnea musciformis, Dictyopteris sp., and<br />

Sargassum spp. contain antibiotic compounds.<br />

These tropical seaweed resources have great potential for development as food, feed and<br />

sources of biopharmaceutical products in addition to industrial colloids. A potentially good<br />

culture system would be the integrated culture with shrimp, fish or abalone farming. Gracilaria<br />

205

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