Algae use to form organic food molecules from carbon dioxide and wa.... alga extract

Algae use to form organic food molecules from carbon dioxide and water. Like plants, algae are located at the base of the , and nonphotosynthetic organisms depend upon this photosynthetic food base for their existence. In addition to making organic molecules, algae produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. Algae produce an estimated 30 to 50 percent of the net global oxygen. Although terrestrial ecosystems also produce large amounts of oxygen, the organisms living in these ecosystems consume it relatively rapidly on a geologic time scale, so that the net oxygen production by rain forests over time is low. The North Sea oil deposits were formed from algae (class ), and the Colorado oil were produced by an alga similar to Botryococcus . Today, Botryococcus (a green alga) produces blooms in , in Russia, and produces large amounts of oil. Several companies have grown oil-producing algae in high-salinity ponds and have extracted the oil as an alternative to fossil fuels. ! Algae, as processed and unprocessed , have a commercial value of several billion dollars annually. In addition to the use of algal extracts in prepared foods (see below), algae are eaten directly in many parts of the world. Algae are a significant food item in the diets of East Asian and Pacific Island societies, and unprocessed algae are eaten by South Americans, North Americans, and northern Europeans. The red alga is the most important commercial food alga. Palmaria palmata, another red alga, is eaten in the North Atlantic region. Alginates are extracted primarily from brown seaweeds, and agar and carrageenan are extracted from red seaweeds. are extracted primarily from species of the red alga Gelidium , but they are also obtained from other red algae, especially Gracilaria, Pterocladia, Acanthopeltis , and Ahnfeltia . , from the Irish word carraigin (meaning Irish moss), are extracted from various red algae: Eucheuma in the Philippines, Chondrus crispus in the United St! ates and the Canadian Maritime Provinces, and Iridaea in Chile! . Commercial extracts used as plant fertilizers contain a mixture of macronutrients, micronutrients, and trace elements that provide robust plant growth. alga extract