Marine macroalgae are an important source of biosynthesized polymers, such as agarans, carrageenans, fucans, alginates, ulvans, among others. These polymers have a variety of beneficial biological activities for plants and animals, and are of particular interest in agriculture due to their water absorption properties, as is the case of alginate.
Alginate interacts with metal ions in soil to form high molecular weight complexes that absorb moisture, swell and retain water, improving soil structure. This has a positive impact on soil pore aeration and capillarity which stimulates plant root growth and increases soil microbial activity. In addition, they retain excess salts and other substances harmful to the plant.
