Large-scale seaweed cultivation has been instrumental in globalizing the seaweed industry since the 1950s. The domestication of seaweed cultivars (begun in the 1940s) ended the reliance on natural cycles of raw material availability for some species, with efforts driven by consumer demands that far exceeded the available supplies. Currently, seaweed cultivation is unrivaled in mariculture with 94% of annual seaweed biomass utilized globally being derived from cultivated sources. In the last decade, research has confirmed seaweeds as rich sources of potentially valuable, health-promoting compounds. Most existing seaweed cultivars and current cultivation techniques have been developed for producing commoditized biomass, and may not necessarily be optimized for the production of valuable bioactive compounds. The future of the seaweed industry will include the development of high value markets for functional foods, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. Entry into these markets will require a level of standardization, efficacy, and traceability that has not previously been demanded of seaweed products. Both internal concentrations and composition of bioactive compounds can fluctuate seasonally, geographically, bathymetrically, and according to genetic variability even within individual species, especially where life history stages can be important. History shows that successful expansion of seaweed products into new markets requires the cultivation of domesticated seaweed cultivars. Demands of an evolving new industry based upon efficacy and standardization will require the selection of improved cultivars, the domestication of new species, and a refinement of existing cultivation techniques to improve quality control and traceability of products.

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In vitro cultivation of three Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Areschougiaceae) variants (green, red and brown) exposed to a commercial extract of the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum (Fucaceae, Ochrophyta) Abstract Diseases such as "ice-ice" and "goose bumps" are responsible for loss of almost 70% of infected Kappaphycus production. To improve the growth of K. alvarezii and reduce the impact of diseases, the effect of the commercial Ascophyllum nodosum extract was tested. Five grams of apical branches of each K. alvarezii variant (n=6) were bathed at different extract concentrations (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 g L −1 ) for 1 hour. To test the effect of the extract on epiphytes apical tips were not cleaned. After 2 weeks, the epiphytes such as Cladophora sp. and Ulva sp. disappeared. Polysiphonia subtilissima survived but its appearance was weak. The highest K. alvarezii growth rates were observed at extract concentrations of 15 and 20 g L −1 (p<0.001), almost double the expected for a 45-day production cycle used at Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. These results show that the extract was efficient at improving the growth of K. alvarezii and reducing the presence of some epiphytes.

Extract powder from the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum (Linnaeus) Le Jolis (AMPEP): a "vaccine-like" effect on Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex P.C. Silva Abstract The benefits of using Acadian Marine Plant Extract Powder (AMPEP), obtained from the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum, for improving growth of the red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii has been demonstrated by authors in the Philippines and Brazil, particularly for increasing daily growth rate and mitigation of epiphytes. However, the processes which occur have not been discussed. This study examined in vitro the relationship between those red algal defense mechanisms and K. alvarezii responses using AMPEP treatments. The administration of the extract reduced the effects of the oxidative burst (production of hydrogen peroxide) which may be extremely aggressive for an individual and its epiphyte. The bleaching of the non-corticated portions of Polysiphonia subtilissima thalli that were cultivated as simulated epiphytes with AMPEP samples confirmed that the reaction was evident in which AMPEP protected K. alvarezii from the hydrogen peroxide effects. It is proposed that the use of the brown seaweed powder AMPEP acts as a potential vaccine, eliciting activation of the red seaweed K. alvarezii natural defenses against pathogens and ameliorating the negative effects of longterm exposure to oxidative bursts.

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