Super-Healthy Seaweed Could Ease Global Food Crisis

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — A new technology for growing “enriched seaweed” promises great benefits for human health and the future of the environment.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute in Haifa have developed an innovative technique that enables the growth of seaweed infused with nutrients, proteins, dietary fiber, and minerals for human and animal needs.

According to the researchers, the state-of-the-art technology significantly increases the growth rate, protein levels, healthy carbohydrates, and minerals in the seaweed’s tissues – making it a natural superfood with extremely high nutritional value.

Doron Ashkenazi, who led the research team at TAU, explains that in their study, local species of the algae Ulva, Gracilaria and Hypnea were grown in close proximity to fish farming systems under different environmental conditions. The special conditions allowed the seaweed to flourish, and enabled a significant improvement in their nutritional value.

“Through the technological approach we developed, a farm owner or entrepreneur will be able to plan in advance a production line of seaweed rich in the substances in which they are interested, which can be used as health foods or nutritional supplements; for example, seaweed with a particularly high level of protein, seaweed rich in minerals such as iron, iodine, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, or in special pigments or anti-oxidants. The enriched seaweed can be used to help populations suffering from malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies, for example disadvantaged populations around the world, as well as supplements to a vegetarian or vegan diet,” says Ashkenazi.

Moreover, unlike terrestrial agriculture, aquaculture, and in particular this proposed seaweed farming approach, does not require extensive land, fresh water or large amounts of fertilizer. It is environmentally friendly, and preserves nature and the ecological balance by reducing environmental risks.

It will also be possible, he adds, to use the enriched seaweed in other industries, including nutritional supplements, medicine, and cosmetics.