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PHANG et al (2007)
sandy areas, mudflats, coral reefs and rocky shores. Turbinaria and the encrusting Lobophora
variegata often accompany the Padina on the intertidal coral reefs. The new species Sargassum
stolonifolium Phang and Yoshida described from Penang Island, is the first in the genus to
exhibit the phenomena of new plantlets derived from the first leaves (Phang & Yoshida 1997).
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF SEAWEEDS IN MALAYSIA
Early records show that several seaweeds were utilised in Malaysia for food, animal feed,
fertiliser and traditional medicine (Burkill 1966, Hooper 1960, Zaneveld 1959, Phang 1984).
Seaweeds like Gracilaria changii, G. edulis, G. salicornia, G. tenuispitata and Gelidium spp.
are used as salads and for the preparation of desserts such as agar-agar. Sarer which is a
species of Gracilaria forms part of the food for the ‘buka puasa’ during the fasting months,
especially along the east coast. In Sabah Eucheuma and Caulerpa are collected and eaten
either raw or blanched in salads. In the Chinese medicine shops one can buy dried Sargassum,
Turbinaria and Ulva of unknown origin, which is popularly used by the Chinese in a soup
considered as a rich source of iodine and which ‘cools’ the body system. The nutritional value
of Malaysian seaweeds is not known except for a short study reporting on the lipid and fattyacid
content of selected seaweeds (Norazmi 2001). Nine species of seaweeds were analysed
for fatty acid composition, and Dictyota dichotoma was found to contain the highest (17.6%
ash-free dry wt) amount of lipids. All the seaweeds contained eicosapentaenoic acid ranging
from 2.4 to 10.7% total fatty acid, with Gracilaria edulis having the highest content.
Of the Malaysian seaweeds, only Eucheuma (Kappaphycus) is presently cultivated for the
commercial production of carrageenan chips as well as semi-refined carrageenan in Tawau,
Sabah. Fishing families around Semporna, east coast Sabah, are involved in the mariculture
of the Eucheuma using the monofilament techniques in the reefs fringing the islands near
Semporna. The average cultivation period is 45 days and continues for eight months of the
year. The monthly production from Semporna was around 60 to 100 tonnes dry wt per month
(Phang 1998). The harvested seaweed is sun dried on the platforms of houses built on the
reefs and sold at RM 1.10 (US$1 = RM3.8) per kg dry wt (moisture content of 32 to 35%) to
the carrageenan producers. There are three semi-refined carrageenan factories in Tawau.
Gracilaria changii, a good source of high quality agar and agarose (Phang 1994b) has also
been experimentally cultivated in shrimp ponds, mangrove ponds and irrigation canals (Phang
et al. 1996). Unlike Eucheuma, Gracilaria farming has not gone large-scale, probably because
there are no large agar factories in the region.
The search for novel bioactive compounds from marine algae has revealed tropical seaweeds
to be a potentially important source (Masuda et al. 2002, Varaippan et al. 2004). Bioactive
properties of seaweeds range from antiviral to antioxidant, immunostimulatory, anti-coagulant,
anti-thrombic and anti-inflammatory. Traditionally coralline algae like Corallina and Amphiroa
are crushed and fed to children to expel worms. Halimeda opuntia, Acanthophora spicifera,
Laurencia, Eucheuma spinosum, Gracilaria sp., Hypnea musciformis, Dictyopteris sp., and
Sargassum spp. contain antibiotic compounds.
These tropical seaweed resources have great potential for development as food, feed and
sources of biopharmaceutical products in addition to industrial colloids. A potentially good
culture system would be the integrated culture with shrimp, fish or abalone farming. Gracilaria
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