Question

The reserve food of brown algae is
A. Fucoxanthin
B. Volutin
C. Laminarin
D. Paramylum

Answer 1

Hint: We have to know that in brown algae, food is stored as complex carbohydrates. It is a storage glucan (glucose polysaccharide) found in brown algae. It is used as a carbohydrate food reserve, just as chrysolaminarin is used by phytoplankton, especially in diatoms.

Complete answer: Let’s study each option one by one
Fucoxanthin is present in brown algae but it’s not a reserve food material. Depending on the amount of Fucoxanthin (xanthophyll pigment), brown algae come in different colours from olive green to a different brown colour.
Volutin granule is an intracytoplasmic form for the storage of complex inorganic polyphosphates, whose production is used as one of the criteria to identify attempts to isolate Corynebacterium diphtheriae on Loffler media. Due to the metachromatic effect present in polyphosphate which appears as a red when it is stained with methylene blue.
Brown algae are eukaryotic algae which have abundant chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, Fucoxanthin, phycocolloids algin and a food reserve in the form of Laminarin. Photosynthetic pigments include chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, and carotenoids (carotenoids). The brown colour of algae is due to the presence of large amounts of xanthophyll called Fucoxanthin.
Paramylum - Paramylon are the reserve food material of Euglenoids. They store their carbohydrates as Paramylon. The latter are formed outside the chloroplast. Paramylon bodies are distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Paramyl is chemically different from starch and glycogen and does not stain with iodine.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
We have to know that a number of brown algae are used as food in several countries, example- Laminaria, Alaria, Macrocystis, and Sargas. Edible brown algae are also used as feed. Others swim in masse (for example Sargassum) disturbing ships. Fucus and Laminaria are rich in iodine. Potash is abundant in Macrocystis. Sodium laminar sulfate is an anticoagulant in the blood. Laminaria and Ascophyllum have antibiotic properties, while Durvillea has worming or deworming properties.