
Eucheuma, commonly known as gusô, is a seaweed algae that may be brown, red, or green in color. Eucheuma species are used in the production of carrageenan, an ingredient for cosmetics, food processing, and industrial manufacturing, as well as a food source for people in the Philippines and parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Eucheuma cottonii – cultivated in the Philippines – is the particular species known as gusô. Other species include Eucheuma denticulatum, and several species of the genus Kappaphycus, including K. alvarezii. Since the mid-1970s, Kappaphycus and Eucheuma have been a major source for the expansion of the carrageenan industry.
