Environmental Impact on Seaweed Phenolic Production and Activity: An Important Step for Compound Exploitation

Abstract

Seaweeds are a potential source of bioactive compounds that are useful for biotechnological applications and can be employed in different industrial areas in order to replace synthetic compounds with components of natural origin. Diverse studies demonstrate that there is a solid ground for the exploitation of seaweed bioactive compounds in order to prevent illness and to ensure a better and healthier lifestyle. Among the bioactive algal molecules, phenolic compounds are produced as secondary metabolites with beneficial effects on plants, and also on human beings and animals, due to their inherent bioactive properties, which exert antioxidant, antiviral, and antimicrobial activities. The use of phenolic compounds in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetics, and food industries may provide outcomes that could enhance human health. Through the production of healthy foods and natural drugs, bioactive compounds from seaweeds can help with the treatment of human diseases. This review aims to highlight the importance of phenolic compounds from seaweeds, the scope of their production in nature and the impact that these compounds can have on human and animal health through nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.

Phytochemical and Potential Properties of Seaweeds and Their Recent Applications: A Review

“…Furthermore, phenolic acids such as benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, salicylic acid, gentisic acid, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, gallic acid, and syringic acid have been found in the genus Gracilaria (Rhodophyta, red alga) [192,193]. Phlorotannins are well-known phenolic chemicals that brown seaweeds produce [194]. Flavonoids such as rutin, quercitin, and hesperidin were detected in many Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, and Phaeophyceae species [195].…”

Call the Eckols: Present and Future Potential Cancer Therapies

“…In nature, phenolic compound synthesis is often induced by extrinsic or intrinsic causes. In fundamental conformations, phenolic compounds (primary and secondary metabolites) have a natural and intrinsic beginning synthesis (primary metabolites) [67]. When seaweed cells are activated under stressful circumstances, they develop more complex forms.…”

Aquatic Phlorotannins and Human Health: Bioavailability, Toxicity, and Future Prospects

“…One interesting approach to achieve limitation of phlorotannin oxidation is by acetylating them 25 or possibly adding antioxidants while extracting, such as ascorbic acid and K 2 S 2 O 5 , to halt the oxidation process caused by phenols on phlorotannins, since they are extracted together. 4 Generally, the solvent extraction method has been widely applied for the extraction of phlorotannins. However, before maceration with polar organic solvents, the lipid contents and other pigments are first extracted from the dried seaweeds.…”

“…One interesting approach to achieve limitation of phlorotannin oxidation is by acetylating them 25 or possibly adding antioxidants while extracting, such as ascorbic acid and K 2 S 2 O 5 , to halt the oxidation process caused by phenols on phlorotannins, since they are extracted together. 4…”

“…3 Seaweeds are not photo-dynamically damaged despite being subjected to severe environmental conditions such as high oxygen concentrations and light, which contribute to the formation of free radicals, as well as other potent oxidizing agents. 4 As a result, marine algae can synthesize bioactive substances to protect themselves from external threats, including stress, herbivores, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. 5 Brown seaweeds have also been found to lower methane emissions when fed to ruminants, which is critical given the increasingly stringent emission standards imposed on this intensive farming sector.…”