Karwar scientist’s theory to ‘weed’ out CO2
KARWAR: While representatives of 192 countries are engaged in climate change debates at Copenhagen, Dr Ullas Naik, a marine scientist at the department of marine biology, at Karnatak University’s PG Centre, here has suggested the unassuming sea weed as a possible cure to the planet’s ills.Calling for the scientific culture of algae, commonly known as sea weed and its conservation and protection, Naik points out that these algae provide much of the earth’s oxygen. They absorb carbon dioxide from the environment and carry out photosynthesis to enhance the productivity.Naik, who presented a paper on his findings at a seminar at the university recently, says the discovery has shown that these marine weeds have a remarkable ability to detoxify serious organic pollutants such as TNT or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.According to him, these algae have an intrinsic ability to detoxify TNT 5-10 times faster than any known terrestrial plant.Since some of the marine organisms, particularly marine invertebrates like clamps, shrimp, oyster or crab, the staple food for many, tend to accumulate toxins, growth of sea weeds will have important implications for sea food safety, he asserts.Marine algae contain protein (5- 10%), fat (0.5-1.5%), ash (10-18%), fibre (3-6%) and carbohydrates (40-60%). He says they are rich in minerals and vitamins and can be used as food.The bioactive compound found in seaweeds have variety of applications in pharmaceutical field. Naik says attempts should be made for screening pharmaceutically active compounds from seaweeds. In fact, seaweeds will be the medicinal food of this century, Naik opines.Cautioning that these “wonderful marine species’’ should be explored scientifically, he says they can be used as manure and fodder.
