MACROSCOPIC ALGAE (SEAWEEDS ) 15 



unknown amongst the maritime Chinese and Japanese is doubtless due to 

 the abundance of iodine in their seaweed dietary supplements and in 

 their fish foods. In striking contrast is the noted prevalence of goiter in 

 Alpine inhabitants, who eat no marine algae, and whose agricultural 

 soil has been leached of iodine by ancient glaciers. 95 ' 96 In the Andean 

 regions of South America, the natives indeed learned to chew "goiter 

 sticks" — the stipes or stems of species of Phyllogigan — to counter the high 

 incidence of thyroid enlargement. Likewise because of their iodine con- 

 tent, the therapeutic use of oarweeds and wracks was common. Most 

 popular were Laminaria digitata and saccharina and Fucus vesiculosus, the 

 latter being prepared as an infusion. Another favored way of administer- 

 ing iodine was in the form of kelp pills, ash, or charcoal. Charcoal kelp 

 was used under the name "Aethiops vegetabilis" for goitrous and scro- 

 fulous swellings. Coudert, in Geneva, was among the first to utilize iodine 

 by itself as a therapeutic agent. In time it was found more economical to 

 derive iodine from the saltpeter beds of Chile, and soon thereafter the 

 great kelp industries of northern and western Europe began their rapid 

 decline. 



One of the earliest therapeutic applications of algae by the Chinese 

 and Japanese was that of the derivative agar in gastrointestinal disorders. 

 In cases of fever attributed to stomach conditions, their monks recom- 

 mended Gelidium boiled into a jelly and sprinkled with ginger and 

 sugar. For relief from disorders caused by extreme heat, an agar milk 

 paste flavored with sugar and vinegar was given. This preparation was 

 particularly favored for children. Gracilaria lichenoides was also utilized 

 as a demulcent in intestinal and bladder difficulties. 



In more recent times, the U. S. Dispensatory recommended agar as 

 a laxative, eaten in small pieces like cereal with sugar and cream, or else 

 in chocolate-coated form. Its value as a laxative is due to its colloidal 

 property of absorbing and holding water without being digested. This 

 attribute makes it desirable as intestinal bulk or roughage. 97 - 98 Agar also 

 decreases gastric emptying time. The jelly extract of Irish moss, like agar, 

 was advised in general irritability of the alimentary tract. During the 

 past century it was prescribed for gastric ulcer, as well as for diarrhea 

 and dysentery. 



On the eastern Asiastic coast, a red alga, Digenea simplex, was dried 

 and sold by Oriental apothecaries; its extract, "helminol," has been em- 

 ployed in the management of ascariasis and oxyuriasis. 99 In China, a 

 combination of algae, including an Enteromorpha, a Chordaria, and seven 



