Economical importance of algae

Beneficial and Harmful use of Algae.
Algae is used as food, fodder, medicines, production of agar agar, antibiotics etc.

1. ECONOMICAL IMPORTANCE OF ALGAE Dr. Rachana Choudhary Department of Microbiology Asstt . Prof. .SSMV , Junwani Bhilai

2. SYNOPSIS Beneficial use . Primary Producers Algae as Food Algae as Fodder for cattle Industrial Uses Medicinal Uses Algae & Nitrogen Fixation As Fertilizer Algae in Sewage Disposal Algae in Land Reclamation Drinking Water Algae Biological Research Harmful Use 1 Contamination o f Water Reservoirs 2. Water Blooms 3. Eutrophication 4. Diseases In Human Beings 5. Parasitic Activities

3. ALGAE Algae are photoautotrophic that can prepare their own food and they produce oxygen during photosynthesis. Algae are ubiquitous. Majority of algae are abundant in stagnant waters.

4. Beneficial use OF ALGAE .

5. 1. Primary Producers Algae are the main oxygen producers in aquatic areas. They are also useful in decreasing water pollution by releasing oxygen. 10% of total photosynthesis carried out by plants is carried out by the algae .

6. 2. Algae as Food Algae species are used as food in several countries and in several forms. Japan is one of the countries where algae are used as major food ( Porphyra tenara Pheophyceae ). Algae species have rich in proteins , vitamins (A, B, C and E), lipids, and minerals . Algae like Laminaria , Alaria , Arthrothamu are commonly used as vegetables. Chlorella is utilized for making pastries, cakes, sandwiches .

7. 3.Algae as fodder for cattle Rhodymenia palmata is used as food for sheep in Narvey . Laminaria saccharina , Pelvitia , Ascophyllum , etc. species are used as food for cattle.

8. 4 . Industrial Use a. Algae as Source o f Iodine The marine algae are rich in iodine and several other important minerals. By feeding the milk cattle and hens with algae, iodine quantity of the milk and eggs may sufficiently be increased.

9. b. Use o f Algae as Diatomite Diatomite is fossilized remains of diatoms. Diatoms are single-celled aquatic algae which are in the form of petri dish. It is used in car paint, roof insulation, wall insulation, cosmetics and bath products .

10. c. Organic Compounds Fucus & Phyllophora Acetic Acids, Formic Acid & acetone Ascophyllum nodosum - contains 5.7% Protein 2.65 fat 1 0.7% moisture 15.4% ash

11. d. Use o f Algae a s Agar Agar It is a jelly like substance obtained from algae. It is used in desserts and By using agar , microorganisms can be cultured. other cooking. It is also used to thicken soups and sauces.

12. e . Use a s Algin Algin is obtained from different algae. It is used in adhesive structure in artificial silk. It is used in paints and many pharmaceutical products. It is used in ice creams . natural and synthetic rubbers

13. 5. Medicinal use Some algae yield antibiotics Chlorellin is obtained from green alga Chlorella, that inhabits the growth of certain bacteria. Because of high iodine contents, B rown algae is used in manufacture of various goiter medicines. Spirogyra is used for cleaning of optical instruments.

14. 6 . Role i n Nitrogen Fixation Algae plays in important role in nitrogen fixation . They converts molecular nitrogen into simpler form such as nitrates & nitrites. A high rice yield has obtained when the rice field were inoculated by nitrogen fixation .

15. 7. Algae as Fertilizer Due to presence of P, K, Ca, and some trace elements , the sea weeds are used as fertilizers. Chara is used to overcome calcium deficiency in the fields. Fucus is used as manure.

16. 8. Algae in Sewage Disposal The effective disposal of sewage requires oxygen and this oxygen is brought about by the algal members present in the sewage like Chlamydomonas, Chlorella etc. The oxygenation by algae also helps to avoid unpleasant odour coming out of sewage bodies .

17. 9. Algae in Land Reclamation Algae act as binding agent. Algae help in reducing the pH of alkaline soils and increasing the water holding capacity of these soils.

18. Drinking Water Nitzschia palea , a diatom is cultivated in the water to make is useful for drinking purpose because this alga secrets substance. Algae In Biological Research Due to eassy availability of algae, some significant experimental work has been carried out on them. Most of the photosynthetic experiment have been performed with the help of Chlorella other algae such as Acetabularia .

19. Harmful Use OF ALGAE

20. 1. CONTAMINATION OF WATER RESERVOIRS The algae grows abundantly in water reservoirs meant for domestic purposes. This affects the filtration process and brings bad taste to water due to decay of dead algal plants. Such algae include members of cyanophyta and chlorophyta.

21. 2. WATER BLOOMS Sometimes algal plants grow abundantly and form quit apparent bodies called water blooms. These bodies deplete the oxygen contents of the water during night time. Emit bad smell and secrete certain poisonous substances harmful to aquatic animals.

22. 3 . Eutrophication Algae causes eutrophication in ponds and lakes. It causes death of aquatic animals. The death of cattles occur by drinking the infected water. Due to thick layer of algae on surface of water, photosynthesis does not occur.

23. 4. DISEASES IN HUMAN BEINGS The contaminated water causes stomach disorder in human beings. Similarly some algae are responsible for respiratory disorders, skin diseases and other algae causes allergies.

24. 5. PARASITIC ACTIVITIES Some algae are parasites on other plants and animals as well. Most of these belong to the Rhodophyta (red algae).

25. CONCLUSION Algae are simple autotrophic organisms and from simple inorganic molecules such as carbon dioxide they produce complex organic compounds using energy from light or inorganic chemical reactions . Although algae grows at a fast rate and good producers of lipids in comparison to other oil sources, harvesting the algae and extracting the lipids is a challenge to the commercial scale development of algae. It helps in maintaining the health of the marine ecosystem because  algae  are naturally absorbent of carbon dioxide and also provide oxygen to the water. Algae  are rich in minerals and vitamins. So they also used as liquid fertilizer which helps in the repairing level of nitrogen present in the soil

26. REFERENCE Botany by Y.D. TIAGI Microbiology by R.P.Singh Microbiology by Dubey and Maheshwari Slide Share

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