Found on west and south-east coasts
Bathinda, Mar 30: A group of marine biologists (people who study life in the oceans) from the Central University of Punjab have discovered two new species of seaweeds. They have been discovered from Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Somnath Pathan (Gujarat), and Daman and Diu (Gujarat). These species have been named Hypnea bullata and Hypnea indica. Hypnea indica was discovered in Shivrajpur and Somnath Pathan in Gujarat whereas Hypnea bullata was discovered along the coastline of Daman and Diu. In Kanyakumari, both the varieties have been found.
These seaweeds have economic importance. Hypnea species contain Carrageenan, a biomolecule which is used in the food industry. When added, it improves the texture of food items like ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, soy milk, and other processed goods.
What are seaweeds?
Seaweeds are algae that grow in almost all water bodies. There are various kinds of seaweeds. They have different shapes, sizes, and colours. They come in red, brown, black, and green colours. Red and brown seaweeds grow mostly in salty water whereas green seaweeds mostly grow in fresh water. There are some edible seaweed varieties too! Seaweeds are used in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and several other cuisines.
Seaweed news credits– Shreya Agarwal