Seaweed, a treasure from the ocean

Gemah ripah loh jinawi, tata tentrem kerta raharja; a popular expression from Javanese word that represents Indonesia’s wealth in terms of its abundant natural resources. We can find those resources in all over Indonesia from its land, air, forest, mining, and even the ocean.

As the archipelagic country with more than 18.000 islands, Indonesia is surrounding by the ocean. It is very rich in biodiversity of both flora and fauna including seaweed. Moreover, Indonesia is one of the world’s largest seaweed producers. Seaweed is the species of algae that plays a key role in the ocean life due to its function to provide food and shelter to other ocean creatures as well as controls polution.

Seaweed has numerous benefits not only for the ocean life but also for human. It contains several essential minerals such as magnesium, calcium, copper, potassium, selenium, zinc, iodine, and iron that good for health. There are many products of food, fertilizer, and cosmetics that made from seaweed has been created. Soap is one of value-added cosmetic products from seaweed.

The benefits of seaweed for skin’s health are often mentioned. It has been known for its smoothing and anti-inflammatory effects. It acts as a moisturiser by its hydrating and protective action of forming a layer on the skin that reduces loss of skin moisture through evapouration. Therefore, it can make our skin softer.

In conclusion, seaweed is one of natural resources that has been enormously produced by Indonesia. It has been proven to be beneficial for human life including for health and beauty purposes.

Bibliography :

Dweck, A.C. The Fascinating Seaweed. [Online]. Available at: www.dweckdata.co.uk. [Accessed 8 August 2018].

Kementerian Perdagangan Republik Indonesia. 2013. Rumput Laut Indonesia. [Online]. Available at: http://djpen.kemendag.go.id/app_frontend/admin/docs/publication/6201390367517.pdf. [Accessed 8 August 2018].