Porphyra, a versatile sea vegetable

There are a good number of Filipino seaweed farmers and entrepreneurs who have focused efforts and invested money in farming Eucheuma and Kappaphycus.  These red sea vegetables, produced mainly in Mindanao, are in demand in the domestic and international markets. In fact, these seaweeds are export winners both as dried/raw unprocessed product or processed in the form of carrageenan. Carrageenan is a versatile phyco/hydro colloidal substance extracted from several red carrageenophytic seaweeds like Eucheuma and Kappaphycus. The extracted gelose substance constitutes the principal raw material in the manufacture of several consumer commodities, including pharmaceuticals, dairy food items, plastics and beauty products.     

However, the strong competition for Eucheuma and Kappaphycus shown by neighboring seaweed-producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, poses a threat to the Philippine seaweed industry. It is high time, therefore, to look for other commercial seaweed species, which could be an export commodity and can be used as food to supply the protein needs of Filipinos.

Porphyra (Laver-English, Nori-Japanese, Kim-Korean, Chi choy- Chinese, and Gamet-Ilokano) is a red, papery sea vegetable. It is protein-rich with a high market demand, both domestically and internationally. This sea vegetable, though predominantly temperate in distribution, abounds in the northeastern coast of Luzon. In Asia, only Vietnam and the Philippines have Porphyra present among their sea vegetable species. 

There are three species of Porphyra in the Philippines found in the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, namely Porphyra crispata Kjellman, Porphyra suborbiculata Kjellman, and Porphyra marcosii Cordero (Cordero, 1974, 1977, and 1979).

These three species are dried, mixed and marketed in roundish or squarish shapes. The Ilokanos relish Porphyra, among more than a dozen edible seaweed species, as part of their meals. The ethnic and most popular food preparation of Porphyra is in the form of a salad using as ingredients crushed ripe tomatoes, sliced green mangoes, and fish paste or bagoong. Eating sea vegetables among Ilokanos dates back to the olden days and this was handed down through generations, making the Ilokanos the top seaweed-consuming Filipino ethnic group. The high seaweed-eating percentage among Ilokanos, in part, explains the relatively low incidence of goiter in Northern Luzon (Cordero, 1982).

Porphyra marcosii, a new species named after the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, is  recommended for sea farming because it is morphologically the longest among the three Porphyra species (Cordero, 1976). Also, the culture technology is known and the expertise is available. In 1970, I successfully grew laboratory and field cultures of Porphyra tenera (Asakusa-nori, Japanese) while pursuing my masteral studies in Kagoshima University, Japan (Cordero, 1975). A modified mariculture technology for the farming of P. marcosii was deemed suitable to the conditions existing in the country.

Viability of a Porphyra industry

In a feasibility study on the farming of Porphyra marcosii, I showed that a Porphyra seaweed industry promises to be a viable venture (Cordero 1982) by farming the seaweed using the modified culture technique that I developed (Cordero 1970, 1975).

The market forecast of the feasibility study identified actual and potential users/consumers. This includes both industrial and commercial sectors as well as households, which utilize Porphyra as food or ingredient in manufactured products or as garnish in food and soup preparations. Porphyra, known for its nutritive value, contains high percentages of protein, iodine, and vitamins A, B, and C that make it a high-value additive to the Filipino meal. Madlener (1977) reported that Porphyra is among the few seaweeds that “… shares the distinction of possessing, pound for pound, vitamin C values comparable to that of lemons.  Species of Porphyra have also been found to contain 36, 000 to 50,000 IU per gram of vitamin A, far more than chicken eggs (850 IU) or chicken liver (10,000 IU).” Further, studies show that Porphyra has a higher protein value than rice or soybeans. A comparative report on protein content among algae showed the following data: Nostoc (Blue-green alga) — 20 percent; Enteromorpha (Green alga) — 20 percent; Analipus (Brown alga) — 22 percent; and Porphyra — 20 percent or more.

Likewise, Porphyra has potential for export to large sea vegetable processor and consumer markets like Japan, South Korea, mainland China, the United States and all countries where seaweed is accepted as food (Okasaki, 1971; Tanikawa 1971).

The primary domestic market are the people of the Ilocos region long known for their acceptance of sea vegetables, with Porphyra being the most relished among seaweeds, as part of their meals. Also, included are the restaurants and hotels all over the country specializing in Japanese food wherein Porphyra is used in various preparations.

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References

CORDERO, J. M.  A Feasibility Study on “Seafarming of the Seaweed Porphyra,” Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master in Business Administration, Graduate School, Philippine Christian University, Manila. 96 p.

CORDERO, JR. P. A.  1974.  Phycological Observations – I:  Genus Porphyra of the Philippines. Bull. Jap. Soc. Phycol. 22(4): 134-142.

CORDERO, JR. P.A.  1975. Growth and Sporulation of Porphyra tenera in the laboratory. KALIKASAN-Phil. Jour. Biol. 4(3): 248-256, 2 text-figs.

CORDERO, JR. P.A.  1976. Phycologica Observations – II: Porphyra marcosii, A New Species from the Philippines. Acta Manilana, Res. Center, Univ. of Santo Tomas, Ser. A, 24 (15): 14 – 24, text-figs. A-H, 1 pl.

CORDERO, JR. P.A. 1977. Studies on Philippine Marine Red Algae Special Publication, Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Series IV, Kyoto University, Japan. 258 p, 28 text-figs.

CORDERO, JR. P.A.  1979. Phycological Observations – IX: Additional Notes on the Occurrence and Seasonality of Genus Porphyra in the Philippines. Acta Manilana, Res. Center Univ. of Santo Tomas, Ser. A, 18 (28): 20-35, 4 figs.

CORDERO, JR. P.A.  1982. A Preliminary Study on the Ethno-Botany of Philippine Edible Seaweeds, Especially from Ilocos Norte and Cagayan Provinces. Acta Manilana, Res. Center Univ. of Santo Tomas, Ser. 3, pp 53-79, 14 text-figs.         

MADLENER, J.C. 1977. The Sea-Vegetable Book, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc./Publisher, New York. 288 p.

OKASAKI, A.  1971. Seaweed and their Uses in Japan. Tokai University Press, Japan.  117 p.

TANIKAWA, R. 1971. Marine Products in Japan. Koseisha-Koseikaku Co., Tokyo, Japan. 507 p.

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Dr. Paciente A. Cordero Jr. is a marine biologist whose main research interest is seaweed culture and utilization. He is a former executive director III of the National Research Council of the Philippines. E-mail him at [email protected].