Abstract
Due to the balanced nutritional value and abundance of bioactive compounds, seaweeds represent great candidates to be used as health-promoting ingredients by the food industry. In this field, Phaeophyta, i.e., brown macroalgae, have been receiving great attention particularly due to their abundance in complex polysaccharides, phlorotannins, fucoxanthin and iodine. In the past decade, brown algae and their extracts have been extensively studied, aiming at the development of well-accepted products with the simultaneous enhancement of nutritional value and/or shelf-life. However, the reports aiming at their bioactivity in in vivo models are still scarce and need additional exploration. Therefore, this manuscript revises the relevant literature data regarding the development of Phaeophyta-enriched food products, namely those focused on species considered as safe for human consumption in Europe. Hopefully, this will create awareness to the need of further studies in order to determine how those benefits can translate to human beings.
Highlights
Marine macroalgae i.e., seaweeds, have been well recognised for centuries by their importance in the diet of many Far Eastern countries, such as Japan and Korea [1,2]
Phaeophyceae possess a high content of diverse phycochemicals and have been repeatedly claimed to exert important therapeutic properties, which turn them into great candidates to be used as bioactive agents in many industries, including the functional food market [9,10,11]
Algae are considered as novel foods and a limited number of brown macroalgae species are considered to be safe for human consumption, namely Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus serratus, Himanthalia elongata, Undaria pinnatifida, Antioxidants 2019, 8, 365; doi:10.3390/antiox8090365
Summary
Marine macroalgae i.e., seaweeds, have been well recognised for centuries by their importance in the diet of many Far Eastern countries, such as Japan and Korea [1,2]. These combined facts are leading to an increased interest in the manufacture and consumption of high-value macroalgae-derived products in Western cultures. According to the Seafood Source report, the new products containing this new ingredient launched on the European market increased by 147% between 2011 and 2015, making Europe the most innovative region globally after Asia [13]. In this region, algae are considered as novel foods and a limited number of brown macroalgae species are considered to be safe for human consumption, namely Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus serratus, Himanthalia elongata, Undaria pinnatifida, Antioxidants 2019, 8, 365; doi:10.3390/antiox8090365 www.mdpi.com/journal/antioxidants. The present manuscript reviews the current knowledge on the incorporation of these brown seaweed species and brown seaweed-derived high-value products in common food products
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