Seaweed Eucheuma spinosum J. Agardh 1847, is it a bioaccumulator?

Abstract

Eucheuma spinosum is a species of seaweed widely cultivated in Indonesia. This seaweed contains high carrageenan, ranging between 65-67 percent. Carrageenan plays a very important role as a stabilizer, thickener, gel maker, emulsifier and others. This property is widely used in the food industry, medicine, cosmetics, textiles, paints, toothpaste and other industries. This very important benefit requires that E. spinosum must be safe from harmful metal content. This study aims to analyze whether E. spinosum is a bioaccumulator of harmful metals. This research was conducted in three sea areas around South Sulawesi, namely the Gulf of Bone, the Flores Sea and the Makassar Strait. Seaweed samples were taken from seaweed cultivation locations in these three areas. The metal concentrations analyzed were Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), and Lead (Pb). This study indicated that E. spinosum was a bioaccumulator because at each sampling location the concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Pb at E. spinosum were generally greater than those in ambient seawater. E. spinosum was non permanent or non consistent bioaccumulator because the concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Pb in E. spinosum tissue are not directly proportional to the concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Pb in seawater.