Saccharina japonica

Saccharina japonica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Diaphoretickes
Clade: SAR
Clade: Stramenopiles
Phylum: Gyrista
Subphylum: Ochrophytina
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Laminariaceae
Genus: Saccharina
Species:
S. japonica
Binomial name
Saccharina japonica
(J.E. Areschoug) C.E. Lane, C. Mayes, Druehl & G.W. Saunders
Synonyms

Laminaria japonica J.E. Areschoug
Laminaria ochotensis Miyabe

Saccharina japonica is a marine species of the Phaeophyceae (brown algae) class, a type of kelp or seaweed, which is extensively cultivated on ropes between the seas of China, Japan and Korea.[1] It has the common name sweet kelp.[2] It is widely eaten in East Asia.[3] A commercially important species, S. japonica is also called ma-konbu (真昆布) in Japanese, dasima (다시마) in Korean and hǎidài (海带) in Chinese.[3] Large harvests are produced by rope cultivation which is a simple method of growing seaweeds by attaching them to floating ropes in the ocean.[1][4]

The species has been cultivated in China, Japan, Korea, Russia and France.[5] It is one of the two most consumed species of kelp in China and Japan.[1] Saccharina japonica is also used for the production of alginates, with China producing up to ten thousand tons of the product each year.[6]

S. japonica contains very high amounts of iodine. Excessive consumption (15 g/day, containing 35 mg iodine) suppresses thyroid function, though thyroid hormone levels remain within normal limits.[7]

  1. ^ a b c M. D. Guiry. "Kelps: Laminaria and Saccharina". www.seaweed.ie.
  2. ^ "Taxonomy - Saccharina japonica (species)". Uniprot. 2022-12-15.
  3. ^ a b Abbott, Isabella A (1989). "Food and food products from seaweeds". In Lembi, Carole A.; Waaland, J. Robert (eds.). Algae and human affairs. Cambridge University Press, Phycological Society of America. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-521-32115-0.
  4. ^ Laminaria seafarming in China FAO[1]
  5. ^ Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Saccharina japonica". AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway.
  6. ^ M. D. Guiry. "Alginates". www.seaweed.ie.
  7. ^ Miyai, Kiyoshi; Tokushige, Tomoyasu; Kondo, Masahiko (2008-12-01). "Suppression of thyroid function during ingestion of seaweed "Kombu" (Laminaria japonica) in normal Japanese adults". Endocrine Journal. 55 (6): 1103–1108. doi:10.1507/endocrj.k08e-125. ISSN 1348-4540. PMID 18689954.