Recent advances in industrial applications of seaweeds

Abstract

Seaweeds have been generally utilized as food and alternative medicine in different countries. They are specifically used as a raw material for wine, cheese, soup, tea, noodles, etc. In addition, seaweeds are potentially good resources of protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and dietary fiber. The quality and quantity of biologically active compounds in seaweeds depend on season and harvesting period, seaweed geolocation as well as ecological factors. Seaweeds or their extracts have been studied as innovative sources for a variety of bioactive compounds such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, polyphenols, carrageenan, fucoidan, etc. These secondary metabolites have been shown to have antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, anti-obesity and anti-tumour properties. They have been used in pharmaceutical/medicine, and food industries since bioactive compounds from seaweeds are regarded as safe and natural. Therefore, this article provides up-to-date information on the applications of seaweed in different industries such as pharmaceutical, biomedical, cosmetics, dermatology and agriculture. Further studies on innovative extraction methods, safety issue and health-promoting properties should be reconsidered. Moreover, the details of the molecular mechanisms of seaweeds and their bioactive compounds for physiological activities are to be clearly elucidated.

Keywords:

• Bioactive compounds
• functional properties
• health benefits
• industrial utilization
• seaweeds

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research is supported by the PRIMA program under project BioProMedFood (ref. no. 2019-SECTION2-4 Project ID 1467). The PRIMA programme is supported by the European Union. This research was also supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK); N - UPAG 119N492 (PRIMA Programme Section 2).