MACROSCOPIC ALGAE (SEAWEEDS) 21 



co-workers in France reported similar studies 141 * 142 with alginic derivatives 

 in 1949 and 1951. Burt, at the Institute for Seaweed Research in Edin- 

 burgh, 107 in 1952 reported some heparin-like activity in vitro for laminarin 

 sulfate; others there reported even greater activity the following year for 

 sodium laminarin sulfate used in rabbits and rats. These extracts contained 

 0.61 to 2.15 sulfate groups per glucose unit. Even though the evolution 

 of the coumarin compounds has progressed tremendously and overshad- 

 owed most others, it is important to know the anticoagulant potentials 

 of algae. Not only might it be possible to perfect better agents in this 

 category, but it could also help assess possible undesirable effects from 

 eating certain algae. 



Blaine, working in Scotland and in Jamaica, studied the potentialities 

 of laminarin as a blood plasma substitute. He used it successfully on 

 dogs in shock; small test doses in humans produced no adverse reactions. 

 Wilkerson likewise reported some success in administering laminarin to 

 rabbits in shock. 107 



With the advent of the atomic age, concern has been manifested over 

 radioactivity of marine substances exposed to test explosions of nuclear 

 weapons. It has been found that elements of atomic weignts 83 to 115, 

 and 127 to 154, are produced in greatest concentration by nuclear fission. 

 Studies are reported on the way on the uptake by seaweeds of radioactive 

 Iodine, Caesium, Rubidium, Cobalt, and Selenium. 107 ' 143 The potential 

 effects of radioactivity on marine organisms are only too obvious. 



C. MISCELLANEOUS USES 



Not only have algae been useful in themselves, but they have also 

 supplied some exotic products which have been highly prized by certain 

 peoples. For example, in the distant Siberian province of Kamchatka, the 

 natives employed dulse in the preparation of a potent alcoholic drink. 

 Similarly the Alaskan Indians, in making an alcoholic concoction called 

 "hoochenoo" (sic!), used the hollow stipes of Nereocystis — not for its 

 intrinsic content, but for its mechanical attributes as a worm condenser 

 to cool the distilled spirits. 144 The Irish, like the Alaskan natives, used 

 dulse — washed, dried, then hand-rolled— as a sort of chewing tobacco. 

 During World War II, considerable quantities of dried karengo, a species 

 of Porphyra, were used by Maori soldiers serving in the Middle East; 

 chewing karengo was asserted to be more thirst-quenching than chewing 



