Nutritional and health properties of seaweeds and its potential as a functional ingredient

Marine algae (seaweeds) have been consumed in Asia since ancient times, while in Western countries the main use of seaweeds has been as sources of gelling and colloidal agents for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Seaweed is a rich source of nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Seaweed dietary fibers are particularly rich in the soluble fractions. Compared to the terrestrial vegetables, seaweed is rich in some health-promoting molecules and materials such as w-3 fatty acids and bioactive molecules. The secondary metabolites synthesized by seaweeds have shown antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anticancer and antidiabetic activity. Therefore, seaweeds can be considered as very interesting natural sources containing new compounds with numerous biological activities that could be used as functional ingredients in many industrial applications such as functional food.