Seaweed Supplementation to Prevent Iodine Deficiency

Iodine is considered as one of the essential elements for the proper functioning of the hormones of human and animal thyroid glands. In many parts of the world iodine deficiency disorders develop because of deficiency of iodine in water and food supply. An iodine deficient goitrous mother may give birth to a cretinous baby because the fetus requires an adequate secretion of thyroxine during the later stages of pregnancy. Seaweed has such a large proportion of iodine compared to dietary minimum requirements, that it is primarily known as a source of this nutrient. A trial study on supplementation of iodine rich seaweed Caulerpa racemosa availed from Gujarat coast was conducted on iodine-deficient or thyroid-insufficient (n=10) pregnant women. They were supplemented daily with 0.17 g of algae in 20 g wheat flour ladoo for one month so as to provide 50μg/day of iodine and 0.343 mg/day of iron. A slight non-significant increase (104.75 to 121.05 μg/L) in median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was observed after one month of supplementation. No significant effect of supplementation was observed on thyroid function parameters of the subjects. They also showed slight increase in hemoglobin level. Prolonged supplementation needs to be carried out further to opine on the impact of algae.