University of Coimbra, MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
Department of Biology, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Mar Drugs. 2022 Feb 15;20(2):141. doi: 10.3390/md20020141.
Nowadays, seaweeds are widely involved in biotechnological applications. Due to the variety of bioactive compounds in their composition, species of phylum Ochrophyta, class Phaeophyceae, phylum Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta are valuable for the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Seaweeds have been consumed as whole food since ancient times and used to treat several diseases, even though the mechanisms of action were unknown. During the last decades, research has demonstrated that those unique compounds express beneficial properties for human health. Each compound has peculiar properties (e.g., antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral activities, etc.) that can be exploited to enhance human health. Seaweed's extracted polysaccharides are already involved in the pharmaceutical industry, with the aim of replacing synthetic compounds with components of natural origin. This review aims at a better understanding of the recent uses of algae in drug development, with the scope of replacing synthetic compounds and the multiple biotechnological applications that make up seaweed's potential in industrial companies. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms of action of seaweed's compounds and to embrace the use of seaweeds in pharmaceutical companies and other applications, with the final scope being to produce sustainable and healthier products.
如今，海藻被广泛应用于生物技术领域。由于其成分中含有多种生物活性化合物，因此 Ochrophyta 门、Phaeophyceae 纲、Rhodophyta 门和 Chlorophyta 门的海藻种类对于食品、化妆品、制药和营养保健品行业具有重要价值。自古以来，海藻就被作为全食物食用，并用于治疗多种疾病，尽管其作用机制尚不清楚。在过去的几十年中，研究已经证明，这些独特的化合物对人类健康具有有益的特性。每种化合物都具有独特的特性（例如抗氧化、抗菌、抗病毒活性等），可用于增强人类健康。海藻中提取的多糖已被应用于制药行业，旨在用天然来源的成分替代合成化合物。本综述旨在更好地了解海藻在药物开发中的最新用途，以期用合成化合物替代海藻的多种生物技术应用，从而发挥海藻在工业企业中的潜力。需要进一步的研究来更好地了解海藻化合物的作用机制，并在制药公司和其他应用中采用海藻，最终目标是生产可持续和更健康的产品。
