商品描述

摘要：

研究了兩種早熟柑橘（Clausellina與Marisol）及早熟Navelina橙的水源萃取物對果實成熟的影響。一種從Ascophyllum nodosum取得的水溶液萃取物，且在整個過程中使用量低。

在我們研究的三個品種中，施用海藻萃取物提升了果實早期，該成熟指數（MI）以總可溶固體（TSS）與可滴定酸度的比率計算。在花期初期、開花期及果實落期末（六月滴）施用三次全覆蓋噴霧，濃度為0.15%，效果最佳。增加海藻濃度或施用次數並未改善結果。在商業成熟時，處理後與對照果實間最大MI差為0.5點。隨著果實過熟，此差異逐漸縮小。此增加主要因酸度降低，但部分實驗記錄到TSS上升。未發現對果實汁液含量有影響。

生物學家，特別是藻類學家，認為海藻指的是大量多細胞、巨型藻類的海洋底棲藻類，因此與大多數體型較小的藻類有所區別。海藻通常是棕藻或紅藻的類型，常見於其他藻類中，包括綠藻。然而，也有少數藍綠菌物種也可歸類為海藻。海藻以陸生「雜草」命名，不應與海草等維管植物混淆，後者是維管植物，而非藻類。

海藻是一群生活在地球海洋中迷人且多樣的生物。你可以在潮間帶的岩石上找到它們，漂浮在海灘上，在巨大的水下森林中漂浮，甚至漂浮在海面上。它們可以非常微小，也可以相當巨大，長可達30公尺！

雖然海藻有許多植物特徵，但它們並非真正的維管植物;它們是藻類。藻類屬於原生生物界，意即它們既非植物也非動物。海藻不被歸類為真正的植物，因為它們缺乏專門的維管系統（內部導體系統，負責液體和養分）、根系、莖、葉，以及像花朵和錐果這類封閉的生殖結構。由於海藻的所有部分都與水接觸，它們能直接從水中吸收液體、養分和氣體，不需要內部導電系統。像真正的植物一樣，海藻具有光合作用;它們將陽光能量轉換為生長所需的材料。海藻細胞內含有綠色色素葉綠素，能吸收光合作用所需的陽光。葉綠素同時也是許多海藻呈現綠色的原因。除了葉綠素外，有些海藻還含有其他吸光色素。這些色素可以是紅色、藍色、棕色或金色，並賦予紅藻和褐藻美麗的色彩。

藻類（單數為藻類）包含多種生物群體，透過光合作用捕捉光能，利用捕捉的能量將無機物質轉化為簡單糖類。藻類傳統上被視為簡單的植物，有些與高等植物關係密切。其他則似乎代表不同的原生生物群，以及傳統上被認為較為動物化的生物（即原生動物）。因此，藻類並非單一的演化方向或路線，而是在地球生命早期歷史中可能多次發展出的組織層級。

藻類從單細胞生物到多細胞生物不等，有些具有相當複雜的分化形態，若為海洋生物，則稱為海藻。所有植物都缺乏葉子、根、花及其他高等植物特徵的器官結構。它們與其他原生動物的區別在於具有光自養性，儘管這並非絕對區分，因為某些群體包含混合營養的成員，透過光合作用及吸收有機碳（如滲透營養、菌營養或吞噬營養）獲取能量。有些單細胞物種完全依賴外部能量來源，且光合作用機制已減少或喪失。

所有藻類的光合作用機制最終都源自藍綠菌，因此光合作用的副產品會產生氧氣，這與非藍綠菌的光合作用細菌不同。

藻類通常出現在潮濕的地方或水體中，因此在陸地及水域環境中都很常見。然而，陸生藻類通常較不顯眼，且在潮濕熱帶地區比乾燥的更常見，因為藻類缺乏維管組織及其他適應性，無法在陸地上生存。藻類能與地衣等真菌共生，承受乾燥及其他條件。

各種藻類在水生生態學中扮演重要角色。懸浮於水柱中的微觀生物——稱為浮游植物——為大多數海洋食物鏈提供食物基礎。在極高密度（所謂藻華）中，這些藻類可能使水質變色，競爭甚至毒害其他生命形式。海藻主要生長於淺海。有些被用作人類食物，或被採集成瓊脂或肥料等有用物質。研究藻類稱為藻類學或藻類學。

藻類（單數為藻類）包含多種生物群體，透過光合作用捕捉光能，利用捕捉的能量將無機物質轉化為簡單糖類。藻類傳統上被視為簡單的植物，有些與高等植物關係密切。其他則似乎代表不同的原生生物群，以及傳統上被認為較為動物化的生物（即原生動物）。因此，藻類並非單一的演化方向或路線，而是在地球生命早期歷史中可能多次發展出的組織層級。

藻類從單細胞生物到多細胞生物不等，有些具有相當複雜的分化形態，若為海洋生物，則稱為海藻。所有植物都缺乏葉子、根、花及其他高等植物特徵的器官結構。它們與其他原生動物的區別在於具有光自養性，儘管這並非絕對區分，因為某些群體包含混合營養的成員，透過光合作用及吸收有機碳（如滲透營養、菌營養或吞噬營養）獲取能量。有些單細胞物種完全依賴外部能量來源，且光合作用機制已減少或喪失。

所有藻類的光合作用機制最終都源自藍綠菌，因此光合作用的副產品會產生氧氣，這與非藍綠菌的光合作用細菌不同。

藻類通常出現在潮濕的地方或水體中，因此在陸地及水域環境中都很常見。然而，陸生藻類通常較不顯眼，且在潮濕熱帶地區比乾燥的更常見，因為藻類缺乏維管組織及其他適應性，無法在陸地上生存。藻類能與地衣等真菌共生，承受乾燥及其他條件。

各種藻類在水生生態學中扮演重要角色。懸浮於水柱中的微觀生物——稱為浮游植物——為大多數海洋食物鏈提供食物基礎。在極高密度（所謂藻華）中，這些藻類可能使水質變色，競爭甚至毒害其他生命形式。海藻主要生長於淺海。有些被用作人類食物，或被採集成瓊脂或肥料等有用物質。研究藻類稱為藻類學或藻類學。

海藻結構：

你知道岩草會生長在附著於岩石的海灘上嗎？附著於岩石處呈深棕色，末端則呈現淺金棕色。表面看起來像是小塊狀物，末端有顆粒狀的質感。腫脹的末端被壓碎時會發出啪嗒聲。

Holdfast是一種根狀結構，將它固定在岩石底部。固定物對水分和養分吸收是必要的，但它是作為錨點所必需的。Holdfast 由許多稱為 hater 的指狀突起組成。

柄是該莖的名稱。菌柄的功能是支撐海藻的其他部分。菌柄的結構是用來支撐植物的其他部分。菌柄的結構因海藻而異，可能柔軟、堅硬、實心、充氣、非常長（約20公尺）、短或完全缺失。

刀刃指的是海藻的葉子。葉片的主要功能是提供大面積的吸收陽光。在某些物種中，葉片還支撐海藻的繁殖結構。有些海藻只有一片葉片，可以分開，而其他物種則有大量葉片。

浮筒被稱為空心、充滿氣體的結構。這些有助於保持海藻的光合作用結構浮力，使其能從太陽吸收能量。

Thallus 是指整個植物的身體，從上到下。

藻類的營養價值：

藻類被商業化種植作為營養補充品。其中最受歡迎的微藻物種之一是螺旋藻（Arthrospira platensis），這是一種藍綠藻（俗稱藍綠藻），被部分人譽為超級食物。[6]其他因營養價值而栽培的藻類包括：綠藻（Chlorella）和富含β-胡蘿蔔素、用於維生素C補充品的杜納利氏菌（Dunaliella salina）。

藻類有時也被用作食物，例如中國的「蔬菜」——青菜（實際上是一種藍綠桿菌）。

部分藻類的油脂含有高濃度的不飽和脂肪酸。花生四烯酸（一種多元不飽和脂肪酸）在綠藻（parietochloris incisa）中含量極高，其濃度可達三酸甘油脂池的47%（Bigogno C 等人，Phytochemistry 2002,60， 497）。

藻類產生的天然色素可作為化學染料和著色劑的替代品。[7] 現今許多紙製品因使用化學墨水而無法回收，紙張回收者發現由藻類製成的墨水更容易分解。食品產業也非常關注以藻類色素衍生的著色劑取代現有的著色劑。

微生物學：

微生物學是研究微生物的學科，微生物是單細胞或細胞簇的微觀生物。這包括有細胞核的真核生物，如真菌和原生生物，以及無細胞核的原核生物，如細菌、原生動物和病毒（雖然病毒並不嚴格歸類為生物體）。

雖然微生物學領域已有許多已知，但持續不斷取得進展。事實上，最常見的估計顯示，我們只研究了任何環境中約1%的微生物。因此，儘管微生物發現已超過三百年，微生物學領域相較於動物學、植物學甚至昆蟲學等其他生物學科，顯然仍處於起步階段。

海藻生態：

海藻在許多海洋群落中扮演非常重要的生態角色。牠們是海膽和魚類等海洋生物的食物來源，也是某些食物網的營養基礎。它們同時也為眾多魚類、無脊椎動物、鳥類和哺乳動物提供庇護和家園。

大型海藻能形成密集的水下森林，稱為海帶林。這些森林為海洋社群提供了物理結構，為動物提供食物與庇護。海帶森林是許多海洋動物的水下育嬰基地，如魚類和蝸牛。茂密的葉片形成濃密的森林樹冠層，無脊椎動物、魚類、鳥類、水獺和鯨魚都能在這裡找到美味食物和良好的棲息地。美麗的海蛞蝓和海藻蟹可見於海藻的葉片和菌柄上，而其他小型海洋生物如蚯蚓則在堡壘中找到家園。海帶森林是海膽及其他放牧無脊椎動物的重要食物來源。

海藻會受到其環境物理特性的影響。由於海藻會從周圍水體吸收氣體和養分，因此它們依賴水持續流經海藻以避免養分耗盡。海水的持續運動也使海藻承受機械應力。海浪和洋流有時強到能把海藻從岩石上撕裂！海藻透過堅固的固定力、柔軟的柄和葉片，以及隨著波浪移動時向基質彎曲來應對機械應力。

許多海藻生活在岩石潮間帶群落中。由於潮間帶海藻無法在退潮時浮出水面，因此會承受暴露於空氣和天氣條件下的壓力。為了在潮間帶生存，海藻必須能夠容忍或減少蒸發性水分流失以及溫度和鹽度變化的影響。海藻暴露於空氣中時會因蒸發而失去水分。有些海藻在退潮時幾乎會完全乾燥，然後吸收水分，潮水帶回水源後又完全恢復。生活在潮池中的海藻會因天氣條件而導致水溫和鹽度變化。在炎熱晴朗的日子裡，潮池中的水會升溫蒸發，導致水的鹽度增加。下雨時則相反，潮池水的鹽度降低。在寒冷的日子裡，海藻可能會因結冰而受損。

When the tide is out mobile intertidal animals must also try to minimize water loss. One way they do this is by seeking out a moist hiding place under some seaweed. As well as providing shelter for invertebrates, intertidal seaweeds are also a food source for grazing animals.

What are seaweeds?

Seaweeds are marine algae: saltwater-dwelling, simple organisms that fall into the rather outdated general category of "plants". Most of them are the green (1200 species), brown (2000 species) or red (6000 species) kinds shown on this page, and most are attached by holdfasts, which just have an anchorage function. Most people know two major groups of seaweeds: wracks (members of the brown algal order Fucales such as Fucus) and kelps (members of the brown algal order Laminariales such as Laminaria), and some have heard of Carrageen Moss (a red alga, Chondrus crispus) and Dulse (also a red alga, Palmaria palmata). Seaweeds make up the Sargasso Sea, a large ocean gyre in the western Atlantic where drift plants of the genus Sargassum accumulate. Seaweeds are very important ecologically: they dominated the rocky intertidal in most oceans and in temperate and polar regions dominate rocky surfaces in the shallow subtidal. Some may be found to depths of 250 m in particularly clear waters.

Auxins in seaweed include indolyl-acetic acid, discovered in seaweed in 1933 for the first time. Two new auxins, as yet unidentified, but unlike any of the known indolyl-acetic acid types, were also discovered in 1958 in the Laminaria and Ascophyllum seaweeds used for processing into dried seaweed meal and liquid extract. These auxins have been found to encourage the growth of more cells -- in which they differ from more familiar types of auxin which simply enlarge the cells without increasing their number. One of the auxins also stimulates growth in both stems and roots of plants, and in this differs from indolyl-acetic acid and its derivatives, which cause cells to elongate but not to divide. The balanced action of this seaweed auxin has not been found in any other auxin.

It has been proved at the Marine Laboratory at Aberdeen that indolyl-acetic acid and the other newly discovered seaweed auxins are extracted in increased quantities by the process of alkaline hydrolysis. We believe that much of the value of our hydrolized seaweed extract is due to this auxin content; but since the amount of auxin in the extract is scarcely enough to promote the increased growth which follows its use as a foliar spray, we think plants so treated are themselves stimulated to produce more vitamins and growth hormones than would otherwise be the case.

At least two gibberellins (hormones which simply encourage growth, and have not, like auxins, growth-controlling properties too) have been identified in seaweed. They behave like those gibberellins which research workers have numbered A3 and A7 -- although they may in fact be vitamins A1 and .

We now come to trace elements, some of the most important and most complex of all seaweed constituents. Two things must be said at once. The first is, that the more one studies the effect of trace elements on plants and animals, the more difficult and involved the subject becomes. Even those who devote their whole working life to the subject are far from having a complete grasp of it. The second point to make here is that while one can hope, at first, to treat trace elements separately for plants and animals, there comes a time when the two become hopelessly mixed. I shall try, in this chapter, to deal with the effect of trace elements on plants only; but some mention of their effect on animals will be inevitable, if only because animals eat plants and the trace elements they contain.

We have seen that seaweed contains all known trace elements. This is important. But it is also important that these elements are present in a form acceptable to plants. We have seen that trace elements can be made available to plants by chelating -- that is, by combining the mineral atom with organic molecules. This overcomes the difficulty that many trace elements, and iron in particular, cannot be absorbed by plants and animals in their commonest forms. This is because they are thrown out of solution by the calcium carbonate in limy soils, so that fruit trees growing in these soils can suffer from a form of iron deficiency known as chlorosis. It is for this reason that plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas, which are particularly sensitive to iron deficiency, can grow only in acid soils. In these soils, iron does not combine with other elements to form insoluble salts which the plant cannot absorb, and it is therefore more freely available.

It is true that an iron salt such as iron sulphate can be dissolved in water and the solution poured on the soil, injected into an animal, or put into its feed. But iron has such a tendency to become bound up with other elements that it is not available to plants or animals when introduced in this way. If, on the other hand, iron in the form of iron oxide is dissolved in an organic compound, there will be no fusion with other chemicals in the soil, and it will be available to the plants which need it. This is the technique of chelating which makes possible the absorption of iron by living matter.

Such chelating properties are possessed by the starches, sugars and carbohydrates in seaweed and seaweed products. As a result, these constituents are in natural combination with the iron, cobalt, copper, manganese, zinc and other trace elements found naturally in seaweed. That is why these trace elements in seaweed and seaweed products do not settle out, even in alkaline soils, but remain available to plants which need them.

Hydrolized seaweed extract also 'carries' trace elements in this way, in spite of the fact that the liquid is alkaline, having a pH of nine -- in the ordinary way so alkaline a solution would automatically precipitate trace elements. This precipitation does not take place in seaweed extract because the trace elements already form part of stronger, organic, associations.

With liquid extract, this ability to chelate can be taken a stage further than happens naturally with seaweed and seaweed meal. Chelation can also be used, artificially, to cause extract to carry more trace elements than are found in fresh seaweed, in seaweed meal, or in ordinary hydrolized extract.

We have ourselves exploited these chelating properties of liquid seaweed extract by manufacturing three special types, one containing added iron, one added magnesium, and one containing the three trace elements of iron, magnesium and manganese. We have also made experimental batches with copper and boron. Most metals could be chelated in this way.

It will be remembered that liquid seaweed extract differs from seaweed meal in that it can be used directly on the plant in the form of a spray. We know that the minerals in seaweed spray are absorbed through the skin of the leaf into the sap of the plant -- and not only minerals, but the other plant nutrients, auxins and so on, listed earlier. Experience further suggests that plants' needs for trace elements can be satisfied at lower concentrations if those elements are offered to the leaves in the form of a spray, rather than being offered through the soil to the roots.

It is also possible that seaweed sprays stimulate metabolic processes in the leaf and so help the plant to exploit leaf-locked nutrients -- for it is known that trace elements won from the soil, and delivered by the plant to the leaf tissue, can become immobilized there. And if, as has been suggested by E. I. Rabinowitch in a standard work on photosynthesis, a 'considerable proportion' of photosynthesis is carried out by bacteria at the leaf surface, spraying with seaweed extract at this point may feed and stimulate them, and thus increase the rate of photosynthesis.

We now come to the debatable matter of antibiotics in seaweed -- debatable, not because there is any doubt that seaweed contains therapeutic substances, but because the precise nature of those substances is unknown. We call them antibiotics for convenience.

It is known that plants treated with seaweed products develop a resistance to pests and diseases, not only to sap-seeking insects such as red spider mite and aphides, but also to scab, mildew and fungi. Such a possibility may seem novel, but it is in keeping with the results of research in related fields. The control of plant disease by compounds which reduce or nullify the effect of a pathogen after it has entered the plant is an accepted technique. It is in this way that streptomycin given as a foliar spray combats fireblight in apples and pears, and antimycin and malonic acid combat mosaic virus in tobacco. The subject of controlling plant disease by introducing substances into the plant itself is known as chemotherapy, and is dealt with in a useful round-up article in the Annual Review of Plant Physiology, 1959, by A. E. Dimond and James G. Horsfall of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, United States.

As far as chemotherapy through seaweed is concerned, the annual report for 1963 of the Institute of Seaweed Research stated that trials in which soil-borne diseases of plants were reduced by adding seaweed products to the soil were the first recorded instance of the control of disease by organic manure. 'Hitherto', the report ran, 'the majority of agricultural scientists believed that the value of organic manures was restricted to their nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium content, with perhaps some additional value as soil conditioner. This new discovery challenges this over-simplified view of the value of organic manures, and has initiated a new appraisal of this very complex problem.'

The reason why seaweed and seaweed products should exert some form of biological control over a number of common plant diseases is unknown. Soil fungi and bacteria are known to produce natural antibiotics which hold down the population of plant pathogens, and when these antibiotics are produced in sufficient quantities they enter the plant and help it to resist disease. The production of such antibiotics is increased in soil high in organic matter, and it may be that seaweed still further encourages this process.

Leathery algae are large with a complex structure,     Foliose algae are basically sheets of tissue, this

comprising of many adaptations to its environment    forms the frond attached to substrate by a small

such as bladders and the large claw holdfasts of        discoid holdfast.

Laminaria sp.

Summary:

The primary source of energy for nearly all life is the Sun. The energy in sunlight is introduced into the biosphere by a process known as photosynthesis, which occurs in plants, algae and some types of bacteria. Photosynthesis can be defined as the physico-chemical process by which photosynthetic organisms use light energy to drive the synthesis of organic compounds. The photosynthetic process depends on a set of complex protein molecules that are located in and around a highly organized membrane. Through a series of energy transducing reactions, the photosynthetic machinery transforms light energy into a stable form that can last for hundreds of millions of years. This introductory chapter focuses on the structure of the photosynthetic machinery and the reactions essential for transforming light energy into chemical energy.

SEAWEED CLASSIFICATION:

Seaweeds are classified into three major groups; the green algae (Chlorophyta), the brown algae (Phaeophyta), and the red algae (Rhodophyta). Seaweeds are placed into one of these groups based on their pigments and colouration. Other features used to classify algae are; cell wall composition, reproductive characteristics, and the chemical nature of their photosynthetic products (oil and starch). Within each of the three major groups of algae, further classification is based on characteristics such as plant structure, form, and shape.

Seaweed extracts have been proven to accelerate the health and growth of plants. The actions of it are many. We will attempt to explain some of them here for you.

Seaweed stimulates beneficial soil microbial activity, particularly in the pockets of soil around the feeder roots resulting in a substantially larger root mass. where the beneficial fungi and bacteria known as "mycorrhizae" make their home. This area of the soil is known as the "rhizosphere." The rhizosphere activity improves the plants ability to form healthier, stronger roots. Having many actions it also enhances the plants own natural ability to ward off disease and pests. A good example has been observed that aphids and other types of sap feeding insects generally avoid plants treated with seaweed. At the same time it works within the soil to make more nutrients available to the plant. The rhizosphere forms a nutrient food bank for the plant it can draw on in times of stress.

Another action seaweed has on the roots in the rhizosphere is due again to the increased mass and depth of the roots the plant is able to draw more moisture from the soil increasing the drought tolerance level. The root mass also allows the plant to more effectively absorb and use fertilizers that are applied to the plant and soil. The overall stronger root structure may help plants physically resist certain types of root diseases.

Seaweed enhances photosynthesis via increasing a plants chlorophyll levels. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color. By upping the level of chlorophyll the plant is able to efficiently harness the suns energy. Along with this seaweed contains a complex range of biological stimulants, nutrients, and carbohydrates. To date more than 60 different types of nutrients in seaweed have been confirmed. However seaweed in itself is not a plant food, rather it is classified as a "bio-stimulant."

Seaweed extracts contain natural plant growth regulators (PGR) which control the growth and structural development of plants. The major plant growth regulator are auxins, cytokinins, indoles and hormones. These PGRs seaweed are in very small quantities generally measured in parts per million. It only takes a very small amount of these to do the job.

l Indole compounds help the development of plant roots and buds.

l Cytokinins are hormones that promote growth via rapidly speeding up the process of cell division making seaweed extract of value in treating tissue cultures. When they are applied to foliage the leaves rejuvenate stimulating photosynthesis. Thus they stay green longer. The cytokinins in seaweed extract are a major factor when applied to apple and peach trees in promoting the growth of fruiting spurs and reduce premature dropping of fruit.

l Auxins, also hormones, occur in the roots and stems during cell division. They move to areas of cell elongation where they allow the walls of cells to stretch. Auxins actually give fruits and vegetables a naturally longer shelf life. This is known as delaying senescense: the deterioration of cells and tissues that results in rotting.

What use are they?

Industrial utilisation is at present largely confined to extraction for phycocolloids and, to a much lesser extent, certain fine biochemicals. Fermentation and pyrolysis are not being carried out on an industrial scale at present but are possible options for the future, particularly as conventional fossil fuels run out. Seaweeds are being used in cosmetics, as fertilisers. They have the potential to be used as a source of long- and short-chain chemicals with medicinal and industrial uses. Marine algae may also be used as energy-collectors and potentially useful substances may be extracted by fermentation and pyrolysis.

Seaweed extracts appear in the oddest of places: you have probably eaten some sort of seaweed extract in the last 24 hrs as many foods contain seaweed polysaccharides such as agars, carrageenans and alginates!

The latest innovation is the incorporation of seaweed into a fibre. Seacell is a fabric made out of Lyocell (a 100% wood pulp fiber) and seaweed. The theory is that your skin will absorb nutrients from the seaweed. Seacell seemingly incorporates 5% seaweed content. The fabric was devised in Germany, and has been certified by the European Eco-Label, which promotes green products. The manufacturer, Zimmer AG, says that the porous, open structure of the Seacell fibers breath well and absorb what your skin excretes. Seacell is mostly being used in bras and briefs.

Thalassotherapy, which is the use of seawater and seaweed as a therapy, has become popular in spas and salons throughout the world.

Marine algae are classified according to their colours which, absorb different fractions of sunlight. The three main colours of seaweed are red, brown and green. Pigmentation, light exposure, temperature of water and oxygenation according to whether the sea is calm or turbulent, have an effect on the nutrient content of individual seaweed and thus their  effectiveness.

The downside of marine algae is that they have the ability to bind heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and mercury, thus it is important that seaweed is harvested from unpolluted seas.

Marine algae used externally in baths, wrapsand emulsions are useful in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis and sun damaged a skin. The polysaccharide alginates in brown seaweeds are anti- inflammatory, anti-oxidant and free radical scavengers.

Seaweed wraps, depending on their iodine content, stimulate metabolism, aid in detoxification and weight loss, and in addition leave the skin feeling smooth and hydrated.

SEAWEED EXTRACT:

Seaweeds are especially rich in cosmetically active compounds such as uronic acid, fucose polymers, sulfated polygalactosides - including mineral salts, iodinated compounds, proteins, carbohydrates, amoni acids, organic acids, and vitamins.

Seaweed extracts combine with the proteins of the outer layer of the skin and the hair, forming protective moisturizing complexes. Fucose polymers retain water and act as hydrating agents.

Seaweed extracts, therefore, hydrate and soften the skin. The same results were found in hair where they act as a protective and moisturizing agent. Efficient hydration increases the effect of the micro elements and essential metabolites facilitating penetration into the skin enhancing the skin's natural ability to repair itself. Irritation caused by shaving and depletion is decreased by application of Seaweed extracts.

That seaweed and seaweed extracts are good for the skin is beyond dispute according to cosmeticians and beauticians. Again, one can only assume that alginates, carrageenans and agars, found in large quantities in many seaweeds, have a beneficial effect in combination with warm seawater; however, it is probable that there are other constituents of seaweeds that have restorative powers. An Irish company is producing a seaweed powder (made mainly from Ascophyllum nodosum) for the cosmetic and algotherapy market, and another is producing a number of dedicated bodycare products containing seaweed extracts.

Seaweed is packed with easy-to-absorb proteins, vitamins, minerals and lipids, it can protect against environmental pollution and ward off aging by nourishing and moisturizing the skin. "The seawater in seaweed is similar to human plasma, so it's an ideal way to get the nutritive benefits from the sea, vitamins A, C and E, and the minerals zinc, selenium and magnesium we need through the process of osmosis. Seaweed cleanses, tones and soothes the skin and regenerates body tissues, offering a new vitality and helping to maintain a youthful appearance. It also improves circulation, which has a positive effect on local fatty overloads and helps maintain the tone of the tissue." No wonder seaweed is used to firm the skin and reduce the appearance of cellulite!

Seaweed and algae body wraps are ideal ways to beautify the skin, rid your body of toxins and boost well-being and health. "It starts a program of detoxification very rapidly," says Dr. "It's amazing how it encourages weight loss and cellulite reduction." "Seaweed wraps are the most effective cellulite treatments," says Mok. "Seaweed and seaweed mud, especially, stimulate the cells to improve cellular activity and increase the efficiency of lymphatic fluid, which helps break down toxic deposits that can result in cellulite.