"Seaweed" is the common name for countless species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and other water bodies. Not only are the fixed and free-floating seaweeds essential to numerous marine creatures, both as food and as habitat, they also provide many benefits to humans.
Seaweed is known to contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein and has been used for culinary and medical purposes for at least 1,500 years. The Japanese mixture of raw fish, sticky rice, and other ingredients in a seaweed is called nori, also called a sushi roll. Many seaweeds contain anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents. Their medicinal effects have been studied for thousands of years with the ancient Romans using them to treat wounds, burns, and rashes. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the ancient Egyptians used them as a treatment for breast cancer.
Certain seaweeds do possess powerful cancer-fighting agents that researchers hope will eventually prove effective in the treatment of malignant tumors and leukemia in people. While dietary soy was long credited for the low rate of cancer in Japan, this indicator of robust health is now attributed to dietary seaweed.
Seaweed is also a rich source of protein and can contain up to 47% on a dry-weight basis. However, it is challenging to extract proteins from the raw biomass, due to resilient cell-wall complexes in the plant-life. Rises in demand for vegan and vegetarian protein alternatives to meat and dairy have begun to drive innovation into seaweed as a protein source, with researchers finding high protein content in macroalgae.
An advantage of using macroalgae as a protein source is the potential reduction of burden on the environment, with macroalgal cultivation not using terrestrial lands and not encroaching onto traditional farming techniques.
