Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Fisheries, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey.
Centre for Innovative Process Engineering (CENTIV) GmbH, Syke, Germany.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2023;63(21):4979-5008. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2021.2010646. Epub 2021 Dec 8.
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.
海藻在不同国家通常被用作食物和替代药物。它们被特别用作葡萄酒、奶酪、汤、茶、面条等的原料。此外，海藻是蛋白质、维生素、矿物质、碳水化合物、必需脂肪酸和膳食纤维的潜在良好来源。海藻中生物活性化合物的质量和数量取决于季节和收获期、海藻地理位置以及生态因素。海藻或其提取物已被研究为各种生物活性化合物的创新来源，如多不饱和脂肪酸、多酚、卡拉胶、褐藻胶等。这些次生代谢物已被证明具有抗氧化、抗菌、抗病毒、抗癌、抗糖尿病、抗炎、抗老化、抗肥胖和抗肿瘤特性。由于海藻中的生物活性化合物被认为是安全和天然的，因此它们已在医药和食品工业中得到应用。因此，本文提供了有关海藻在制药、生物医学、化妆品、皮肤病学和农业等不同行业应用的最新信息。应重新考虑关于创新提取方法、安全性问题和促进健康特性的进一步研究。此外，还需要阐明海藻及其生物活性化合物的分子机制，以了解其生理活性。
