Ecklonia cava
| Ecklonia cava | |
|---|---|
| Ecklonia cava | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Ochrophyta |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Laminariales |
| Family: | Lessoniaceae |
| Genus: | Ecklonia |
| Species: | E. cava |
| Binomial name | |
| Ecklonia cava Kjellm., 1885 | |
Ecklonia cava, also called paddle weed, kajime (Japanese: 搗布/未滑海藻), noro-kajime, or gamtae (Korean: 감태), is an edible marine brown alga species found in the ocean off Japan and Korea.
It is used as an herbal remedy in the form of an extract called Seanol, a polyphenolic extract, and Ventol, a phlorotannin-rich natural agent. Phlorotannins, such as fucodiphlorethol G, 7-phloro eckol, 6,6'-bieckol, eckol, 8,8'-bieckol, 8,4"'-dieckol and phlorofucofuroeckol A can be isolated from Ecklonia cava. Other components are common sterol derivatives (fucosterol, ergosterol and cholesterol).
It is also identified as a viable colloid source for use in the biotech industry.