16 THE ROLE OF ALGAE AND PLANKTON IN MEDICINE 



Floridees, was favored for its vermifugal virtues ; it is thus not too surpris- 

 ing that the Chinese credited practically all marine algae with such powers. 

 In Europe, until the end of the eighteenth century, vermifuges prepared 

 from the calcareous algae Laminaria officinal and ruben enjoyed high 

 public approval. In 1775, the Greek physician Stephanopoli discovered the 

 anthelmintic properties of the small red-tufted alga Alsidium helmin- 

 thocanton, found at low tide along the rocky Corsican shores. Additional 

 seaweeds of help in deworming include Hypnea musciformis (particularly 

 in Turkey and Greece), two species of Chondria, the green fresh-water 

 alga Rhizoclonum vovulare, and dulse. Employed by the Maoris of New 

 Zealand was yet another vermifuge, prepared from the bull kelp Durvillea. 



Irish moss, the red seaweed that flourished in Carragheen, was used 

 — after cleansing, curing, and bleaching — as a demulcent for coughs. Its 

 mucus-forming qualities made it popular in the nineteenth century for 

 pulmonary disorders generally, and for "consumption" particularly. The 

 purest Carragheen preparation, Electum albissimum, was used for this 

 purpose. It was sometimes prepared as a liver oil emulsion. Carragheen 

 was also used occasionally to disguise the taste of bitter drugs. A related 

 extract of Chondrus crispus found usage in World War I in easing the 

 throat irritations of soldiers who had been gassed. Carragheen has also 

 been denatured with whiskey and used liberally for coughs in some 

 Hibernian bars in New York. 47 



A distinctive French preparation, to serve in place of linseed meal 

 poultices, was cotton-wool soaked in a Carragheen concoction, then dried. 

 Other seaweeds considered useful in lung diseases and scrofula included 

 Gelidium cartilagineum (in Japan), Dictyopteris polypodiodes and Stilo- 

 phora rhhoides (in the Mediterranean area), and Laminaria saccharina. 

 Irish moss also served as a demulcent in diarrhea and in irritations of the 

 urinary tract. In the middle of the eighteenth century, Scottish peasants 

 were said to chew dulse to induce sweating in states of pyrexia. 



The bladderwrack Fucus vesiculosus also enjoyed a role in certain 

 concoctions and "slimming teas" in the management of obesity. 100 Its 

 therapeutic merit might be attributed to its iodine content and its effect 

 upon the thyroid gland. Agar, by virtue of its bulk and relative in- 

 absorbability, also served in the treatment of problems of overweight. In 

 the surgical field, stipes or "stem pieces" of Laminaria cloustoni, known 

 as Stipites laminaria, were utilized to widen fistulas and wound openings 

 because of their ability to swell markedly following moistening. These 

 stipes were also used in distending the uterine neck in labor. 



