Potential of marine algae (sea weeds) as source of medicinally important compounds

Abstract

Scientific research has always been concerned with aspects of human health. There are several systems of medicines besides the globally accepted allopathy, which are based on compounds originating from natural products. Recent research has been centred around validation of the traditional knowledge on medicinal products. The traditional systems in India, China and forklore medicines in other parts of the world have indicated the potential of natural products consist of various chemical compounds that could be used as drugs. The search for drugs against five major dreadful diseases namely, cancer, AIDS, heart disease, diabetes and pulmonary disorders that attack the present day human from natural products has been in progress for some time. Microbes, plants and animals are the sources of natural products. In the past five decades, the research on bioactive chemicals from marine algae has been incited and several compounds with biological activity were isolated from algae. Generally, these are secondary metabolites produced for chemical defence against the biotic pressure of predators, consumers and epibionts. These potential drugs are now attracting considerable attention from the pharmaceutical industries due to the necessity of identifying substances that could be utilized for novel therapeutic purposes. Several compounds such as alginate, carrageenans, sulphated and halogenated polysachcharise and other derivatives have been shown to provide drugs that could be antiviral, anticancer and antimicrobial. The present account is on the potential of marine macro-algae for medicinally important products.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Red Algae Powder (Chondrus crispus) on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Lymphoid Organ Weights and Intestinal pH in Broilers

“…Also, table 2 shows T1 increases productive efficiency, with a decrease in FI and FCR, but only in the first three weeks of life, which is the most critical period of birds, characterized by an immature digestive and immunological system (Anand et al, 2016;Aroche et al, 2018). A decrease in FI in T1 may be due to the fact that red algae have a high concentration of mucilages (80%) (Kulshreshtha et al, 2014), these polysaccharides are soluble in water and indigestible, which reduces gastrointestinal transit and increases the feed satiety (Solominski et al, 2011).…”

“…The explorations of these organisms for pharmaceutical purposes have revealed important chemical prototypes for the discovery of new agents, which has also allowed to stimulate the synthesis of compounds with biomedical applications (Radhika et al, 2012;Offret et al, 2016). In China and Japan, marine macroalgae have been used as drug preparations, especially for the treatment of Basedow's disease, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), rheumatoid arthritis, hyperthyroidism and cancer, as a vermifuge, and as hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic agents (Kaleağasıoğlu et al, 2013;Astorga-España & Mansilla, 2014;Sakulpong et al, 2015;Anand et al, 2016;Paiva et al, 2016). Moreover, the incorporation of algae Martínez Y, Ayala L, Hurtado C, Más D, Rodríguez R eRBCA-2019eRBCA- -1015 in other products improves or increases the nutritional value of foods; because these are rich in amino acids, vitamins, fatty acids, polyphenols, phytosterols, minerals, dietary fiber and antioxidant compounds (Farvinand & Jacobsen, 2013;Sakulpong et al, 2015).…”

Marine Algae as Source of Novel Antileishmanial Drugs: A Review

“…With an estimation of more than 30,000 species, they represent a considerable part of the marine environment. Seaweeds have been used as human food from 600 to 800 BC in China and other countries in Asia [ 36 , 37 ]. Based on their pigmentation, macroalgae are classified into three main phyla which include red seaweed (Rhodophyta), brown seaweed (Phaeophyta) and green seaweed (Chlorophyta) [ 38 , 39 ].…”

Unraveling the Lipidome and Antioxidant Activity of Native Bifurcaria bifurcata and Invasive Sargassum muticum Seaweeds: A Lipid Perspective on How Systemic Intrusion May Present an Opportunity

“…Over the last decades consumer priority turned its focus to lifestyle, healthiness, and well-being, without neglecting environmental and sustainability concerns [ 1 ]. These concerns, along with the increasing demand for natural compounds and functional foods, justified a new look at the composition of seaweeds, since it is well recognized that these marine resources are a natural and sustainable source of natural compounds [ 2 , 3 ]. This new paradigm led to an increasing interest in seaweed utilization for food, cosmetic, agricultural, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and nutraceutical applications [ 4 , 5 ].…”