cactus tree alga

The plant has runners that are overlaid by sand rising up to thick stalks that split into heavy upright branches that are in turn lined with rows of short think branchlets. The length can vary from 2 to 25 centimetres (0.8 to 9.8 in) with a tall slender habit to a short bushy habit. It is a coenocytic species that grows well in shallow protected areas with sandy bottoms.

It is found around much of the world including the Americas between Florida and Brazil including most of the islands of the Caribbean. Both coasts of Africa as far south as South Africa and many of the islands in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Found through much of Asia and in Australia it is found in Queensland and in Western Australia along the coast in a large area extending from around Perth then north through the Mid West and Pilbara coasts and into the Kimberley region

Caulerpa genus consists of species that are resistant to herbivorous fishes due to its high content of sesquiterpenes and other phytochemicals that act as a chemical defense against herbivorous fishes. These chemical compounds are researched in order to find new compounds that can be used as antiviral, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, immunostimulatory, anti-obesity, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic medications.

Sulfated polysaccharides. The sulfated polysaccharides were detected in Caulerpa cupressoides var. flabellata, collected from Nísia Floresta in Brazil. These unique polysaccharides had anticoagulant, antioxidant, and immunostimulatory activities, which suggest potential biomedical applications. However, polysaccharides extracted from these species did exhibit dose-dependent anticoagulant activities in the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways.

Lectins. Seaweeds are rich sources of lectins, which are glycoproteins of nonimmune origin that bind reversibly to specific mono or oligosaccharides, without exerting any enzymatic activity on these carbohydrates. Lectins, carbohydrate-binding proteins, are known as anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory agents, had been detected in Caulerpa cupressoides var. lycopodium, collected from Pacheco in Brazil. …