Fucus - Uses

Uses

In Scotland and Norway, up until the mid 19th century, several seaweed species from Fucus and other genera were harvested, dried, burned to ash, and further processed to become "kelp", which was a type of soda ash that was less costly in Britain than the barilla imported from Spain. It has an alkali content of about 2.5%–5% that was mainly sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃); alkali is essential to soapmaking, glassmaking, and other industries. The seaweed was also used as fertilizer for crop land in the same areas in which it was harvested. The purest barilla had a sodium carbonate concentration of about 30%.

In 2005, it was announced that bacteria grown on Fucus have the ability to attack and kill the MRSA superbug.