Hobbies And Interests
Green
Green algae has many uses. Green micro and macro algae remove toxins and inorganic nutrients from sewage. Due to its photosynthetic ability, green algae has great capacity to capture as well as store carbon. Capturing and storing carbon allows green algae biomass to produce biofuels such as biodiesel and to be a deterrent to the "greenhouse" effect. Organic beta-carotene in green algae may help prevent certain cancers such as lung cancer and is also used for yellow-orange food coloring. One unicellular green alga, Chlorella, is used as a nutritional supplement taken in tablets or capsules or added to foods such as cookies or pasta. Hawaiian foods such as limu wawaeiole and limu palahalaha contain green algae.
Red
Red algae are high in protein and vitamins and used in many foods. Some of these foods include dulse from Scotland, killish from Ireland and sol from Iceland. Nori and Japanese sushi wraps, zicai from China and limu huluhuluwaena from Hawaii also include red algae. Seaweed gelatin from red algae called carrageenan is used as a rennet-free gelatin by vegetarians. It is also included in cheese, fruit juices, meringues, candies, dessert gels, frozen food, bakery icings and salad dressings. As a thickener it is added to ice cream, milkshakes, capsules and tablets, creams and lotions, shampoos, toothpastes, ulcer products and bulking agents for laxatives. Agar, like carrageenan, is a colloidal agent used for stabilization, suspension and thickening. It is used in ointments, lotions and skin preparations in cosmetics. As a thickener, agar is used in foods such as yogurt, prepared pudding, and chocolate milk. Agar is in shoe polish, shaving soaps, photographic film as well as dental impression molds and anticoagulants. This red algae derivative can form thermally reversible gels which are used in slow-release drugs, and as stiffening agents in growth media for mycology and bacteriology.
Brown
Brown algae contain potassium salts, iodine, sodium and alginates for food additives such as thickeners, fillers, stabilizers, emulsifiers and binders. Kelp or brown algae becomes fertilizer and other soil additives, as well as edible seaweed in food such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean wakame, and Japanese kombu and Chinese hai dai. Brown algae are used in Chinese medicine and as a dietary supplement, salt substitute, food garnish and served as sea vegetables. Its strong fibers are made into a binding material used for dressing wounds. Used as alginate, a source of polysaccharide, brown algae is used in toothpastes, ice cream, soy sauce, tinned meats, fabric printing, and soaps. Fish breeders in California harvest giant kelp, a brown algae, to feed abalone. Many marifuels, biofuels created from marine life, use giant kelp biomass. Diatoms, phytoplankton related to brown algae, provide diatomite pest control for fleas, rubbing compounds (polish) and filters.
Blue-Green /Cyanobacteria
The oldest known fossils, the cyanobacteria often called "blue-green algae," are attributed to the formation of Proterozoic oil deposits. Today cyanobacteria provide nitrogen fertilizer for growing beans and rice. In medicine they are used as a nutritional supplement and are thought to cure certain types of tongue and mouth ulcers.