Abstract
Seaweeds are known to be a good supply of key nutrients including carbohydrates, protein, minerals, polyunsaturated lipids, as well as several other health-promoting compounds capable of acting on a wide spectrum of disorders and/or diseases. While these marine macroalgae are deeply rooted in the East Asian culture and dietary habits, their major application in Western countries has been in the phycocolloid industry. This scenario has however been gradually changing, since seaweed consumption is becoming more common worldwide. Among the numerous edible seaweeds, members of the genus Fucus have a high nutritional value and are considered good sources of dietary fibers and minerals, especially iodine. Additionally, their wealth of bioactive compounds such as fucoidan, phlorotannins, fucoxanthin and others make them strong candidates for multiple therapeutic applications (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-obesity, anti-coagulant, anti-diabetes and others). This review presents an overview of the nutritional and phytochemical composition of Fucus spp., and their claimed biological activities, as well as the beneficial effects associated to their consumption. Furthermore, the use of Fucus seaweeds and/or their components as functional ingredients for formulation of novel and enhanced foods is also discussed.
Highlights
Seaweeds, i.e., marine macroalgae, have a long tradition of usage and applications among the far East populations, either for direct consumption and nutrition or for medicinal purposes, whereas, in Western countries, their industrial utilization has been rather confined to extraction of phycocolloids and, to a lesser extent, certain fine biochemicals [1]
Several in vitro studies have shown that fucoidans obtained from different species, including F. vesiculosus, F. spiralis, F. serratus, F. distichus and F. evanescens, displayed identical anticoagulant properties to that of heparin, i.e., a commercial animal-derived sulfated polysaccharide currently used as an anticoagulant drug, which are mainly mediated via activation of plasma antithrombin-III and inhibition of thrombin, heparin cofactor II and coagulation factor Xa [94,95,96,97]
As Fucus spp. fucoidans were found capable of preventing human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) from entering in tubulogenesis [96] and even inhibit their vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF)-induced proliferation, it is possible to suggest that these polysaccharides may hold antiangiogenic potential [105]
Summary
I.e., marine macroalgae, have a long tradition of usage and applications among the far East populations, either for direct consumption and nutrition or for medicinal purposes, whereas, in Western countries, their industrial utilization has been rather confined to extraction of phycocolloids and, to a lesser extent, certain fine biochemicals [1] This panorama is currently shifting as macroalgae are becoming more and more popular since, in addition to not competing with food crops for the use of arable land and fresh water resources, they are claimed to be a good supply of key nutrients including carbohydrates, protein and minerals [2], as well as a rich source of health-promoting compounds capable of acting on a wide spectrum of disorders and/or diseases [3]. Values are expressed in % DW. * calculated by a differential method subtracting (protein + lipid + ash) from total dry weight; N.D., no data found in the literature
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