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Algae and Men 265

TABLE 7.3
Mineral Composition of Wakame (U. pinnatifida) and
Kombu (L. japonica) (in mg [100 g d.w.] 21 )
Minerals Kombu Wakame

Ca 880 + 20 950 + 30
Mg 550 + 15 405 + 10
P 300 + 10 450 + 12
I 170 + 5.5 26 + 2.4
Na 2532 + 120 6494 + 254
K 5951 + 305 5691 + 215
Ni 0.325 + 0.020 0.265 + 0.015
Cr 0.227 + 0.073 0.072 + 0.026
Se ,0.05 ,0.05
Fe 1.19 + 0.03 1.54 + 0.07
Zn 0.886 + 0.330 0.944 + 0.038
Mg 0.294 + 0.017 0.332 + 0.039
Cu 0.247 + 0.076 0.185 + 0.016
Pb 0.087 + 0.021 0.079 + 0.015
Cd 0.017 + 0.007 0.028 + 0.006
Hg 0.054 + 0.005 0.022 + 0.003
As 0.087 + 0.006 0.055 + 0.008

Hizikia fusiforme is another brown algae popular as food in Japan and the Republic of Korea
known as Hiziki. Up to 20,000 wet tons were harvested from natural beds in the Republic of
Korea in 1984, when cultivation began. Since then, cultivation has steadily increased, on the south-
west coast, such that in 1995 about 37,000 wet tons were farmed and only 6000 wet tons were har-
vested from the wild. A large proportion of the production is exported to Japan, where there is little
activity in Hizikia cultivation. This medium-dark brown macroalga grow to about 20–30 cm in
length; the many branched along central stipes give an appearance slightly reminiscent of
conifer leaves, with a finer frond structure than wakame and kombu. It is collected from the wild
in Japan and cultivated in the Republic of Korea, grows at the bottom of the eulittoral and top
of the sublittoral zones, and is on the southern shore of Hokkaido, all around Honshu, on the
Korean peninsula and most coasts of the China Sea. About 90% of the Republic of Korea
production is processed and exported to Japan.
The protein, fat, carbohydrate, and vitamin contents are similar to those found in kombu,
although most of the vitamins are destroyed in the processing of the raw macroalgae. The iron,
copper, and manganese contents are relatively high, certainly higher than in kombu. Like most

TABLE 7.4
Dietary Fiber Content of Wakame (U. pinnatifida) and
Kombu (L. japonica) (% d.w.)
Soluble Insoluble Total

Kombu 32.6 4.7 37.3
Wakame 30 5.3 35.3