Large seaweeds have long been widely used for both food and industrial products. Edible uses vary widely. Seaweeds such as wakame and nori are eaten and enjoyed by themselves, while kelp is used as a broth to add depth to dishes. Seaweed is also used as a thickening agent for foods and as plaster for castle walls because of its high content of highly viscous polysaccharides.
There are more than 1,500 kinds of seaweeds living around Japan alone, but we usually eat only a few kinds, and many of them are of low utilization. We are searching for new and effective ways to utilize such seaweeds by finding species that contain many useful components. In addition, aquaculture technology is indispensable for their utilization. The life history of seaweeds varies from simple to complex and unknown.
Among them, we conduct research in a wide range of areas, including the exploration of new components, development of utilization methods, understanding of functional properties, development of analytical methods, and elucidation of maturation mechanisms. This course introduces some of those studies.
