Sea lettuce, or Ulva lactuca, has the potential to be used in the pharmaceutical industry. That's because sea lettuce contains sulfated polysaccharides that have various biological activities, such as antiviral and anticancer
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has said that sea lettuce (Ulva spp), has antiviral and anticancer properties and can potentially be used as a raw material in medicines.

"Sea lettuce, or Ulva lactuca, has the potential to be used in the pharmaceutical industry. That's because sea lettuce contains sulfated polysaccharides that have various biological activities, such as antiviral and anticancer," said Yanuariska Putra, a researcher from the LIPI Marine Bio Industry Center, when contacted by ANTARA here on Tuesday.



Sea lettuce has wide potential to be used in the marine food industry or the pharmaceutical industry, he added.



Sea lettuce is among marine commodities with a high nutritional value, but it has not been used optimally, he opined.

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Several studies have shown that sea lettuce has a high fiber content that can improve the health of the digestive system, while the sulfated polysaccharides it contains have immunomodulator, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anticoagulant, antihyperlipidemic, and anticancer properties, he informed.



Sea lettuce is widely available in coastal areas, particularly in rocky coastal areas, such as the waters of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara province and Gunung Kidul beach in Yogyakarta province, he said.



"However, its availability is usually seasonal," he added.



Therefore, the LIPI Marine Bio Industry Center is currently developing a technology so that sea lettuce cultivation can be carried out on land as inland farming, he revealed.



"This cultivation technology development needs to be carried out so that the availability of industrial raw materials can be fulfilled continuously," he said.



Cultivation of sea lettuce itself can be done using culture tanks under controlled conditions, he added.


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Translator: Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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