The biodiversity of Indian seaweeds comprises ca. 865 taxa, of which the alginophytes Sargassum spp., Cystoseira spp. and Turbinaria spp. are traditionally exploited. The alginate trade in India evolved as a cottage industry in the rural coastal regions of Tamil Nadu. The resource surveys have assured sufficient feed-stock availability, but landing data between 1978 and 2019 revealed a 54.85 and 33.59% decline in biomass of Sargassum spp. and Turbinaria spp., respectively. Despite this, alginate production continues to register incremental growth from 112 t in 2004–2005 to 262 t in 2018–2019. The higher production was due to feed-stock imported for domestic processing. Self-reliance in production can only be achieved by resource management and developing a viable farming protocol. This shall support sustainable trade by reducing dependency on wild harvesting. The complete valorisation of biomass by employing a high-throughput integrated bio-refinery protocol for sequential extraction of industrial products, viz. bio-stimulant, pigments, mannitol and alginates, is pivotal for profitable enterprise. Since the domestic industry is heavily depending on artisanal seaweed gatherers of the Gulf of Mannar, it is crucial to protect their rights by resolving issues pertaining to ownership of the resource coupled with conservation and sustainable utilisation. Seemingly, there is still a lot to be done on alginophytes in India. This review provides information and data on various domains of alginate trade aimed at developing a national programme and policy.

印度海藻的生物多样性包括约。865个分类单元，其中藻生植物Sargassum spp 。，Cystoseira spp。和Turbinaria spp。传统上是被利用的。印度的藻酸盐贸易在泰米尔纳德邦农村沿海地区发展为家庭手工业。资源调查确保了充足的原料供应，但1978年至2019年的着陆数据显示，Sargassum spp的生物量下降了54.85％和33.59％。和Turbinariaspp.。尽管如此，藻酸盐产量仍继续增长，从2004-2005年的112吨增加到2018-2019年的262吨。产量较高的原因是进口用于国内加工的原料。生产中的自力更生只能通过资源管理和制定可行的耕作协议来实现。这将通过减少对野生采伐的依赖来支持可持续贸易。通过采用高通量综合生物精炼方案对工业产品进行连续萃取，从而实现生物质的完全增值。生物刺激剂，颜料，甘露醇和藻酸盐对于盈利企业至关重要。由于国内产业在很大程度上取决于马纳尔湾的手工海藻采集者，通过解决与资源所有权以及保护和可持续利用有关的问题，保护他们的权利至关重要。看来，印度的藻类植物还有很多工作要做。这次审查提供了有关藻酸盐贸易各个领域的信息和数据，旨在制定一项国家计划和政策。