Biology of Seaweeds

Macroalgae-Derived Ingredients for Cosmetic Industry—An Update

“…Anti-proliferative activity in cancer cell lines as well as inhibitory activity against tumors has been described for fucoidans [66]. The genus Porphyra contains mainly porphyrans, an agar-like sulphated galactan disaccharide, which accounts for up to 48% of thallus (dw) [35]. It has been reported that red macroalgae SPs, namely, xylomannan, galactans, and carrageenans, exhibit antiviral activity [59].…”

“…Despite having a low fat content (0.3-5% dw), they provide long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids from the n-3 family (n-3 LC-PUFA), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3), and liposoluble vitamins (e.g., β-carotene, vitamin E) [34,36,[38][39][40]. However, it is important to highlight that macroalgae development and composition is affected by the species genetics and the surrounding growth conditions, namely, light, temperature, pH, salinity, and nutrient variations [35,38,41,42].…”

“…Besides this, they are a valuable raw material used as an ingredient in animal feed [31][32][33][34]. However, some authors consider them to be still underexploited and to have not yet reached their full potential of application [35].…”

“…Interestingly, macroalgae are also one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12-Its presence is likely due to the bacteria living on their surface or in the proximate waters [35].…”

“…An alternative is to use BHA instead, although, in high doses, it can also be carcinogenic [52]. Alternatively, natural antioxidants from plants and macroalgae have been demonstrating a solid substitution potential [35,53]. Their antioxidant-rich extracts actively protect formulations against oil oxidative processes, particularly those containing a higher amount of oily phase, while simultaneously presenting health-promoting effects [27].…”