Riviera Maya, Q.R. — A study started last year to determine the effects of sargassum on human health is nearly complete. The Quintana Roo Council of Humanities, Science and Technology says their study resumed this year due to a lack of sargassum last season.
The project is to determine the possible health effects on people who collect sargassum by hand. Scientists are studying the health of people who are exposed to, or in contact with the macroalga, which had been suspended since last year since the arrival of sargassum in 2024 was much less than expected.
Project Director Cristopher Malpica Morales says with the abundant arrival of sargassum this year and an approved budget, their research has been ongoing since July 2025 and is being carried out by specialists from the Autonomous University of Quintana Roo.
“It is an ongoing study that will be concluding now in December. It was reactivated in July when funding was approved and transferred to the Autonomous University of Quintana Roo.
He explained that the study will analyze the effects of breathing in the leachate from the macroalga after detecting problems mainly affecting the respiratory tracts of those who have had more direct contact with it.
It will also determine how harmful the algae is and whether this is due to the high concentration of heavy metals such as arsenic, copper, manganese and molybdenum, which in large quantities, are often harmful to humans, flora and fauna.
Regarding the investment being made, he mentioned that the initial budget was 400,000 pesos but they ended up allocating a much smaller amount, just over 100,000 pesos, for this phase, which aims to anticipate possible health consequences and take the necessary preventative measures.
“The budget for this research cycle was approximately 115,000 pesos, which was mainly used for transportation and field sampling.
“The research focuses on the effects of inhaling sargassum leachate because the researchers determined that there were beginning to be effects through inhalation rather than direct contact. That is what we will discover with this research,” he explained.
“Technical lead, Dr. Lourdes who directs the Faculty of Health Sciences, says by the end of the year we should be concluding the last phase of the project in order to present the results of the investigation in January or February of 2026.”
