ISOLATION OF HUMIC-ACID FROM THE BROWN-ALGAE ASCOPHYLLUM-NODOSUM, FUCUS-VESICULOSUS, LAMINARIA-SACCHARINA AND THE MARINE ANGIOSPERM ZOSTERA-MARINA

Recent discovery of humic acid (HA) in the free-living, brown alga Pil ayella littoralis has prompted a search for HA in other live plants. M arine algae Codium fragile and Monostoma oxyspermum (greens), Chondrus crispus, Palmaria palmata and Polysiphonia lanosa (reds), Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus vesiculosus and Laminaria saccharina (browns) and Zost era marina (marine angiosperm) were investigated for their HA content. Only the brown algae and the marine angiosperm contained HA, which wa s extracted by a standard procedure augmented with necessary removal o f alginic acid (where applicable). The isolated products were identifi ed as HA by comparison of their analytical data, uv-visible, FTIR, H-1 NMR spectra and morphologies with those of authentic HA isolated from municipal compost.