Bioactives in seaweeds, algae, and fungi and their role in health promotion

Abstract

Seaweeds, algae, and fungi are rich sources of a myriad of bioactive compounds. In recent years, special attention has been paid to these secondary metabolites with biological activities that exist in aquatic foods and might render beneficial health effects in humans. Various antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antiobesity and antimicrobial bioactives have been isolated from seaweeds, algal and fungal species may be used as functional components in foods, food supplement, and as nutraceutical or medicine to promote human health and reduce disease risk. This review provides a cursory account of the health promoting bioactives such as sulfated polysaccharides, various polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), sterols, proteins and their hydrolysates, bioactive peptides, minerals, vitamins as well as pigments derived from various seaweeds, algal, and fungal species focusing on their potential application and health benefits. In addition, a brief description is provided for the extraction of such bioactives and techniques used to isolate and characterize them.