Possible application of alginate is for the inhibition of absorption of lead, the concentration of which is steadily increasing in our environment due to the anti-knock agents in gasoline, from where it contaminates food products and finally raises blood lead-level. These findings can be extended to barium, cadmium and zink and alginates are recommended as a preventive measure in areas such as the vicinity of mines and chemical plants, where a high degree of pollution from metals exists. If we include the populations of all industrial areas and all polluted large cities into the part of mankind, which could need a chemical protection for heavy metals, there are still supplies enough. A good three quarter of the world\u00b4s unexploited seaweed resources are made up by an estimated 130 million tons of brown algae, all in cold waters. This figure does not refer to the standing crop but to the potential of harvestable seaweed available at reasonably increased efforts. Largest in bulk may be the kelp and rock-weed occurrencies belonging to the genera Laminaria, Ascophyllum and Fucus in the northern Atlantic. Macrocystis, Nereocystis and various Laminariales in the northern Pacific, and Macrocystis, Durvillea och Lessonia in the southern hemisphere. The most vigorous growths of these brown algae are often found in regions with very rough climate, such as the Straits of Magellan, where storms may obstruct harvesting and rain may complicate drying. While it has previously been regarded as more or less insignificant if brown or red algae were given as a source of supplementary trace elements, vitamins and proteins, it is now evident there are important differences. The alginates of brown algae are protective against many kinds of metal poisning, due to their ability of binding certain atoms. For the same reason it is possible that certain trace metals actually present in the seaweed ash will never be released from the alginates. These may have a low natural content of strontium – they are still capable of taking up all strontium ions present in other parts of our food. Ascophyllum has a not negligible content of copper. But ewes fed dominantly on seaweed gave births to lambs with copper deficiency. Most important in this connection must be to make sure that iron is not prevented from being take up by the body in presence of alginates. That iodine is not, must be regarded as having been satisfactorily established through the experience of generations. Evidently their rock-weed fodder had not only retained unreleasably all the copper it contained, but had also absorbed all copper from other sources of food simultaneously present in the sheep intestine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Possible application of alginate is for the inhibition of absorption of lead, the concentration of which is steadily increasing in our environment due to the anti-knock agents in gasoline, from where it contaminates food products and finally raises blood lead-level. These findings can be extended to barium, cadmium and zink and alginates are recommended as … <\/p>\n