Page 283 - Algae Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Biotechnology

266 Algae: Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Biotechnology

brown macroalgae, its fat content is low (1.5%) but 20–25% of the fatty acid is eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA).
Cultivation process is very similar to that of Undaria and Laminaria. Young fronds collected
from natural beds are inserted in a rope at 10 cm intervals. Seeding ropes are attached to the
main cultivation rope, which is kept at a depth of 2–3 m using flotation buoys along the rope
and anchoring it to the seabed at each end. Cultivation is from November to May, and harvesting
is in May–June.
The harvested fronds are washed with seawater, dried in the sun, and boiled with the addition of
other brown macroalgae such as Eisenia bicyclis or Ecklonia cava (Figure 7.8), which helps remov-
ing phlorotannin. This pigment gives Hizikia its astringent bitter taste. The resulting product is cut
into short pieces, sun-dried, and sold packaged as hoshi hiziki. Typically it is cooked in stir fries,
with fried bean curd and vegetables such as carrot or it may be simmered with other vegetables.
Japan produces also Cladosiphon okamuranus cultivated around Okinawa Island. This brown
macroalga is also harvested from natural populations around the southern islands of Japan and con-
sumed as Mozuku. It is characterized by a thallus with a stringy not turgid fronds and it can exceed
50 cm in length. Cladosiphon grows in the sublittoral, mainly at depths of 1–3 m. As Undaria and
Laminaria, its life history involves an alternation of generations, with the fronds being the

FIGURE 7.8 Frond of Ecklonia cava.