Scientists fromand the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute have made significant strides in improving seaweed’s capacity to produce healthy natural materials.
The new development was led by Ph.D. student Doron Ashkenazi of Tel Aviv University and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute, under the guidance of Prof. Avigdor Abelson of Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology and Prof. Alvaro Israel of the IOLR in Haifa, in collaboration with other leading researchers from Israel and around the world, including Guy Paz from IOLR; organic chemistry expert Dr. Shoshana Ben-Valid; Dr.
To this end, they established an original and practical cultivation approach, in which three local seaweed: Ulva, Gracilaria, and Hypnea, were initially grown alongside fish effluents, and subsequently exposed to various abiotic conditions , namely high irradiance, nutrient starvation, and high salinity. The researchers investigated how these changes affected the concentration of specific valuable biomaterials in the seaweed, with the aim of enhancing their production.
Using their cultivation approach, the researchers believe that in the future it will be possible to elevate seaweed to additional natural materials with important medical properties, such as anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and ant-biotic substances.