Bioactive Polysaccharides from Seaweeds

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 14; p. 3152
• Main Authors: Hentati, Faiez, Tounsi, Latifa, Djomdi, Djomdi, Pierre, Guillaume, Delattre, Cédric, Ursu, Alina Violeta, Fendri, Imen, Abdelkafi, Slim, Michaud, Philippe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09.07.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; Amino acids; Antioxidants; bioactive agents; Bioactive compounds; Biochemistry; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Biological activity; Biomolecules; Cancer; Carbohydrates; Carotenoids; Carotenoids - chemistry; Carotenoids - therapeutic use; Chemical and Process Engineering; Chemical compounds; Dietary minerals; Dietary Supplements; Diterpenes; Engineering Sciences; Enzymes; Fatty acids; Flavonoids; Food; Fucoxanthin; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Humans; Life Sciences; Macroalgae; Metabolites; Oligosaccharides; Peptides; Peptides - chemistry; Peptides - therapeutic use; Phycocyanin; Pigments; Polyphenols; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - therapeutic use; Proteins; Review; Saccharides; Seaweed - chemistry; Seaweeds; Sterols; Vitamins; Xanthophylls - chemistry; Xanthophylls - therapeutic use; polysaccharides; seaweeds; bioactive agents; biomolecules; Macroalgae
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules25143152

Bioactive compounds with diverse chemical structures play a significant role in disease prevention and maintenance of physiological functions. Due to the increase in industrial demand for new biosourced molecules, several types of biomasses are being exploited for the identification of bioactive metabolites and techno-functional biomolecules that are suitable for the subsequent uses in cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical fields. Among the various biomasses available, macroalgae are gaining popularity because of their potential nutraceutical and health benefits. Such health effects are delivered by specific diterpenes, pigments (fucoxanthin, phycocyanin, and carotenoids), bioactive peptides and polysaccharides. Abundant and recent studies have identified valuable biological activities of native algae polysaccharides, but also of their derivatives, including oligosaccharides and (bio)chemically modified polysaccharides. However, only a few of them can be industrially developed and open up new markets of active molecules, extracts or ingredients. In this respect, the health and nutraceutical claims associated with marine algal bioactive polysaccharides are summarized and comprehensively discussed in this review.